A majority of surveyed Americans confirmed that they believe in "God as described in the Bible," a new Pew Research Center survey has found. The survey revealed that 58% of respondents said they believe in "God as described in the Bible," while 32% said they do not believe in the God of the Bible but they "do believe there is some other higher power or spiritual force in the universe."
According to the Christian Headlines, the new poll also found that a total of 91% of Americans said they believe in God or a higher power, a slight increase when Pew asked the very same question in 2020, in which they yielded an 89% result, and in 2017, when they yielded a 90% result.
Meanwhile, the poll also found that less than one in 10 American adults rejected any belief in God or a "higher power." The poll found that there was a decrease in the number of respondents who said they don't believe in God or a higher power, with 9% in this year's poll versus 11% in 2020 and 10% in 2017.
Survey results revealed that 73% of Americans said they believe in heaven, while 62% said they believe in hell. Self-professed evangelicals were the biggest group to affirm their belief in heaven with 96%, followed by members of historically black churches at 93% and Catholics with 90%. Moreover, Evangelicals (91%) and members of historically black churches (89%) were also more likely to say they believe in hell, compared to Catholics (74%).
In terms of gender, women were more likely to believe in heaven and hell compared to males. Up to 78% of women said they believe in heaven, versus 68% of men. Also, 65% of women said they believed in hell versus 59% of men who said the same.
The poll, which was conducted on 6,485 American adults between September 20 to 26, also showed that 68% of Americans believe that "everything in life happens for a reason." Up to 83% said they believe "some things happen in life that can't really be explained by science or natural causes," and only 44% believed in fate, which the poll meant that "the course of your life is predetermined."
In addition, half of American Evangelicals firmly believe that "my religion is the one true faith leading to eternal life in heaven" and that people from other religions are not included, even if they also believe in God, like the Jews, the Jerusalem Post reported. The poll found that 31% of American Christians believe that their religion is the only true faith that can lead to eternal life in heaven, versus 58% who believe that multiple religions lead to different eternal rewards.
Only 19% of Evangelicals believed that members of other Christian denominations can obtain eternal life in heaven, versus 44% who said that many religions can ensure eternal life. Catholics (77%) made up the majority who believed so. In terms of political affiliations, 44% of Republicans said that they believe in heaven and that people who do not believe in God cannot enter heaven, compared to 21% of Democrats who believe the same.
