What Americans believe about God

Survey reveals whether Americans believe in God, as described in the Bible, or just a higher power

The concept of God means different things to different people, and a new Pew Research poll set out to discover exactly how Americans feel about an almighty being.

According to the survey, 56% of Americans believe in God “as described in the Bible,” while 33% don’t believe in the God of the Bible, but do believe in some higher power or spiritual force, while only 10% don’t believe in any type of higher power. And folks don’t necessarily have to believe in a religion to believe in a higher power. In fact, 72% of those religiously unaffiliated, referred to a “nones,” believe in some sort of higher power, just not necessarily the God described in the Bible.

Of course, there are plenty of people whose belief in God has a huge influence on their daily life.  In fact, 48% say they believe God or another higher power directly determines what happens in their lives, while 77% say that God or a higher power has protected them and 67% say they have been rewarded by a higher power. What’s more, 61% say God or a higher power will judge people on what they’ve done, while 41% say a higher power has punished them.

• And then there are people who believe they have a direct connection to the Almighty. The survey finds that 47% of people say they talk to God, while 28% say that God talks back to them. Not surprisingly, those who pray are more likely to say they speak to God and God speaks to them, although 39% of people who say they seldom if ever pray still report talking to God.

Source: Pew Research