Poll: Less Americans Certain God Exists
Less Americans believe in God and fewer are absolutely certain that God exists, the Harris Poll reported.
A survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults indicated a drop in the number of people who believe in God since 2003, from 79 percent to 73 percent and another decline, 66 to 58 percent, in those who are absolutely sure there is a God. Answers for the recent poll were collected from the form of an online survey, which were found to draw out more admittance to potentially embarrassing beliefs or behaviors.
The results came just after Time Magazine released numbers showing 66 percent of Americans have no doubts that God exists. Time also indicated that 11 percent believe in God but have some doubts while the Harris Poll reported 15 percent are somewhat certain that there is a God.
Not all self-claimed Christians or Jews were found to believe in God. The poll revealed that only 76 percent of Protestants, 64 percent of Catholics, and 30 percent of Jews say they are absolutely certain there is a God. Among born-again Christians, 93 percent agreed.
Older Americans are more likely to be sure in God's existence. For those aged over 40 and over, more than 60 percent said they are absolutely certain that there is a God. In contrast, 45 percent of people 18 to 24 years old said the same and 43 percent of those ages 25 to 29 agreed. And 54 percent of people in the 30 to 39 age group said they are certain there is a God.
Among ethnic groups, more African Americans (71 percent) said they are absolutely certain that there is a God compared to Hispanics (61 percent) and Whites (57 percent). Additionally, higher education contributed to a drop in those believing in God's existence. While 62 percent of people with no college education said they are certain there is a God, 53 percent of those with post-graduate degrees said the same.
The Harris Poll further found the frequency at which Americans today attend religious services. It showed that 35 percent of all adults claimed to attend a religious service once a month or more often. Almost half of all adults said they attend services a few times a year or less often and 18 percent said they never attend. Less than half of Protestants and Catholics attend services once a month or more often compared to more than two-thirds of born again Christians.
Americans were also surveyed on their views of God.
When asked about the gender of God, 36 percent said they think of God as male, 37 percent said "neither male nor female," 10 percent said "both male and female," and only one percent said female.
Another statistic showed that 41 percent think of God as "a spirit or power that can take on human form but is not inherently human," 27 percent think of God as a "spirit or power that does not take on human form," and only nine percent think of God as being "like a human being with a face, body, arms, legs, eyes, etc."
The survey went on to find that 29 percent of all adults believes that God “controls what happens on Earth" and 44 percent believes that God "observes but does not control what happens on Earth." Time magazine, however, had reported that 31 percent believe in a God who is deeply involved in daily life and world events while 24 percent believe in a God who does not interact with the world.
On another note, the poll found that 51 percent of all adults believe that Jews, Christians and Muslims all worship the same God; 32 percent believes they do not and 16 percent are not sure. Among born-again Christians, 54 percent believes they do not worship the same God and only 34 percent believe they do.
The Harris Poll was conducted nationwide online between Oct. 4 and 10, 2006 among 2,010 adults aged 18 and over.
