A new survey discovered that only half of all Americans are sure of the existence of God, revealing the dynamic and changing religious landscape in the United States.
Only half of Americans now say they are sure God exists. https://t.co/wBic02KCRz
— The Hill (@thehill) May 22, 2023
This was only one of the significant findings gathered by the General Social Survey, released last May 17th by NORC, the research organization for the University of Chicago. The results of the 2022 survey were in contrast to the trends from previous decades, where 60% of Americans were sure that God existed as recently as 2008.
NORC also found that 34% of Americans never attended church, the highest figure recorded in five decades of surveying. Its findings align with those of other research organizations, such as the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), where a new study concluded that the percentage of non-religious Americans increased to 27% in 2022, compared to just 19% in 2012 and 16% in 2006.
I pray for the non believers
— Clyde Bower (@bentgrassblade) May 22, 2023
Although the number of religious Americans saw a sharp decrease, data from NORC showed that three-quarters of Americans believed in an afterlife, a number that remained stable over the years, which also showed that many Americans remained spiritual.
NORC, widely considered a gold standard of surveys of faith and religion among religious scholars, also showed that since 2000, the number of Americans who were certain of a God's existence decreased from 61.85 in 2000 to just 49.63 in 2022.
The decreasing trend of organized worship goes back generations, even if church attendance, membership, and belief in God experienced a decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. The General Social Survey found that 29% of Americans were not affiliated with any religion in 2021, up from 23% in 2018 and 5% in 1972.
Funny God said this would happen in end times
— Michael (@MovieFanMan75) May 22, 2023
Although trends showed a decrease in church membership and certainty about the existence of God, the stigma towards atheism remains in the United States. Only 7% of Americans surveyed expressed they do not believe in a God, while another 7% said the existence of God can never be known.
In addition, the number of Americans who identify as nondenominational Protestants increased to 15% today, making them the second-largest religious group in the United States today after Roman Catholics.
For Ryan Burge, a political scientist at Eastern Illinois University who studies faith, the results from the NORC survey show that “Belief is very stubborn in America today.”
Given all the failed "thoughts and prayers" by the NRA-funded @GOP gun whores, doubting the existence of a biblical god is the only sane course.
— Ara Kahu (@Ara_Kahu) May 23, 2023
Nevertheless, some non-religious organizations welcomed the results of the NORC study, with Freedom From Religion Foundation co-president Dan Barker noting the increasing number of doubts among religious Americans, adding that the United States is catching up with many European countries regarding religiosity.
Data showed that while religiosity is on the decline in the United States, it remains a religious country by global standards. According to the Pew Research Center, only 19% of Americans were not religious, lower than other countries like Germany (26%), China (52%), Japan (60%), and the United Kingdom (31%).
