Why is evolution so hated?

It has always seemed strange to me that evolution is the big bugaboo that people have with science. Other differences between religion, such as the Big Bang and quantum theory, are rarely attacked even though they in many ways are much more antagonistic to religion. The big bang deals with the creation of the entire universe. Quantum theory puts limits on what is knowable. How much more heretical could these ideas be to religion?

Ironically, I believe that it is the fact that evolution shows that there is not such an unbridgeable gap between human and other life, that so many people refuse to accept the mountain of evidence for it. This is ironical, because religious people often accuse seculars of putting humans before god (and, in fact, are often referred to as humanists), but it is just this same attitude that keeps them from accepting the fact that humanity is only an insignificant part of the cosmos!