New Poll Finds Americans' Belief in God is Strong but Declining

What People Do and Do Not Believe In
Harris Interactive

According to the findings of a new Harris Poll, a majority (74 percent) of American adults believe in God, which is down from 82 percent in 2005. The poll also revealed that today, fewer people believe in miracles, heaven and other specific religious teachings.

According to the 2013 poll,

  • 72 percent believe in miracles as opposed to 79 percent in 2005
  • 68 percent believe in the concept of heaven as opposed to 75 percent in 2005
  • 68 percent believe that Jesus is God or the Son of God as opposed to 72 percent in 2005
  • 65 percent believe that Jesus was resurrected as opposed to 70 percent in 2005
  • 64 percent believe that the soul survives after death as opposed to 69 percent in 2005
  • 58 percent believe in the devil and the concept of hell as opposed to 62 percent in 2005
  • 57 percent believe in the Virgin birth as opposed to 60 percent in 2005

The same poll revealed that 47 percent believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution as opposed to 42 percent in 2005. It also showed that 42 percent of Americans believe in ghosts, 36 percent believe in creationism, 29 percent believe in astrology, 26 percent believe in witches and 24 percent believe in reincarnation.

While 19 percent of Americans said they were “very religious” and an additional 40 percent said they were “somewhat religious”, 23 percent identified themselves as “not at all religious”. The last figure seems to have doubled since 2007. The Harris Poll was conducted online among 2,250 adults within the United States between November 13 and 18, 2013.

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