Beliefs about whether or not the snake is literal are not, and never were, “core beliefs” of Christians. Core beliefs are the things that are contained in the creed, like that Jesus rose from the dead and so on.
If you found conclusive scientific proof that Jesus did not rise from the dead, very few Christians would accept that. The reaction to that, no matter how strong the proof, would be very different from the reaction to evolution.
Beliefs about whether or not the snake is literal are not, and never were, “core beliefs” of Christians. Core beliefs are the things that are contained in the creed, like that Jesus rose from the dead and so on.
If you found conclusive scientific proof that Jesus did not rise from the dead, very few Christians would accept that. The reaction to that, no matter how strong the proof, would be very different from the reaction to evolution.