New Gallup Poll: 81% Believe in God — But Most Doubt Him
Nearly 58% question the power of God: Only 42% believe He ‘hears your prayers and can intervene on your behalf’
A new Gallup poll shows 81 percent of Americans believe in God, but 58 percent consider God’s power finite. In addition, a record 17 percent told the pollsters they didn’t believe in God.
Gallup began asking Americans about their belief in God in 1944 when 96 percent said they believed in God. Then, from 1953 to 1965, an even higher 98 percent said they believed in God.
Over the past decade, the percentage of believers started to slip
In 2011, 92 percent said they believed in God, falling to 87 percent in 2013 and 86 percent the following year. The number bounced back to 89 percent in 2016, dipping slightly to 87 percent in 2017.
“The vast majority of U.S. adults believe in God, but the 81 percent who do so is down six percentage points from 2017 and is the lowest in Gallup’s trend,” Gallup reported. “Between 1944 and 2011, more than 90 percent of Americans believed in God.”
