What was the main reason most scientist did not accept continental drift?

Answer 1

It is because he couldn't explain why or how the continent's drifted apart. They didn't believe him until after he died.

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More to the point, they didn't believe him until new techniques showed hitherto-hidden evidence.

Answer 2

Some scientists rejected Alfred Wegener`s idea at first because they couldn`t imagine what forces could push continents apart.

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Also, the contemporary view was that the Earth's Crust was a continuous layer of basalt with the granite continents on top of it - though the two rocks were not called by those names. At the time, geologists trying to understand volcanicity, earthquakes and orogeny (mountain-building) did not have the necessary evidence as it was hidden by the deep oceans until developments in marine surveying could reveal it.

Answer 3

Many scientists initially rejected continental drift because there was no known mechanism to explain how continents could move. Additionally, the idea challenged established scientific beliefs and theories at the time. It wasn't until the development of the theory of plate tectonics that continental drift gained widespread acceptance in the scientific community.