Though Americans are currently attempting to recover from their Halloween sugar comas, with our presidential election looming, religious beliefs are rising to the tops of many conversations and minds.
Over the past few years, The Harris Poll has found that the gap between the proportion of U.S. adults (18+) and teens (13-17) that believe in God is closing.
Where in 2014, 8 in 10 teens (80%) believed in God while only 74% of adults felt the same in 2013, now in 2016, just over three quarters of each share this belief (77% teens, 76% adults).
It is worth noting, however, that while over half of all Americans aged 13 and older say they are absolutely certain there is a God, teens are more likely than adults to feel this way (58% teens vs. 53% adults).
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,463 U.S. adults aged 18+ and 510 teens aged 13-17 surveyed online between July 14 and 27, 2016.
The after party
Whether or not a person believes in God, everyone must still find their own way to contend with the matter of death. Just under three quarters of Americans (74% teens, 73% adults) believe in Heaven, followed by seven in ten who believe in angels (71%, 70% respectively).
When it comes to the devil’s domain, 65% of teens believe in Hell, a six-percentage point jump on the 59% of adults who feel the same. In addition, just under six in ten Americans believe in the Devil (59% teens, 58% adults).
And when it comes to what’s deep inside, over six in ten Americans (61% teens, 64% adults) believe the soul survives after death, while 19% of teens and about a quarter of adults (26%) believe in reincarnation.
WHAT AMERICANS BELIEVE IN
Please indicate for each one if you believe in it, or not.
Base: Teens 13-17 and Adults 18+
% Believe In
Total teens 13-17 (2016) Total adults 18+ (2016) Total teens 13-18 (2014) Total adults 18+ (2013)
n = 510 n = 2463 n = 712 n = 2250
God 77 76 80 74
Miracles 75 73 76 72
Heaven 74 73 78 68
Jesus is God or the Son of God 72 71 74 68
Angels 71 70 74 68
The resurrection of Jesus Christ 70 68 70 65
Hell 65 59 64 58
Survival of the soul after death 61 64 62 64
The Virgin birth (Jesus born of Mary) 61 57 59 57
The Devil 59 58 65 58
Ghosts 44 41 46 42
Darwin’s theory of evolution 40 49 43 47
Creationism 33 37 38 36
Astrology 30 33 36 29
UFOs 29 35 31 36
Witches 25 28 23 26
Reincarnation – that you were once another person 19 26 21 24
