Harris poll: the religious and other beliefs of Americans 2003 - News and Comment

That very large majorities of the American public, and almost all (but not all) Christians believe in God, the survival of the soul after death, miracles, heaven, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the Virgin birth will come as no great surprise. What may be more surprising is that half of all adults believe in ghosts, almost a third believe in astrology, and more than a quarter believe in reincarnation--that they were themselves reincarnated from other people. Majorities of about two-thirds of all adults believe in hell and the devil, but hardly anybody expects that they will go to hell themselves.

These are some of the findings of a Harris Poll of 2,201 American adults surveyed online between January 21 and 27, 2003, using the same methods used by 1-larris Interactive to forecast the 2000 elections with great accuracy.

The survey also found that women are more likely than men to hold both Christian and non-Christian beliefs. African-Americans are more likely than Whites and Hispanics to hold Christian beliefs, as are Republicans. The level of belief is generally highest among people without a college education and lowest among those with postgraduate degrees.

* The 90% of adults who believe in God include 93% of women, 96% of African-Americans and 93% of Republicans but only 86% of men, 85% of those with postgraduate degrees, and 87% of political independents.

* The 84% of those who believe in the survival of the soul after death include 89% of women but only 78% of men, 86% of those without a college degree but only 78% of those with postgraduate degrees.

* The 84% of the public who believe in miracles falls to 72% among those with postgraduate degrees, and rises to 90% among women and 90% among African-Americans.

* The 82% who believe in heaven includes 89% of women but only 75% of men and fills to 71% among people aged 25 to 29 and those with postgraduate degrees.

On almost all the beliefs that are central to Christianity; there is a general pattern with:

* Higher levels of belief among women than among men.

* Lower level of belief among people aged 25 to 29.

* Higher levels of belief among people with no college education and lower levels of belief among those with postgraduate education.

* Higher levels of belief among African-Americans than among Whites and Hispanics.

Other interesting findings include:

* 68% of the public believes in the devil, and 69% believe in hell.

* 51% of the public, including 58% of women, and 65% of those aged 25 to 29 believe in ghosts.

* 31% of the public believes in astrology including 36% of women and 43% of those aged 25 to 29 but only 17% of people aged 65 and over, and 25% of men.

* 27% believe in reincarnation, that they were once another person. This includes 40% of people aged 25 to 29 but only 14% of people aged 65 and over.

What Christians and Non-Christians Believe

One of the more intriguing findings is that not all people who call themselves Christians believe all the conventional Christian beliefs. For example, one percent of Christians do not believe in God, 8% do not believe in the survival of the soul after death, 7% do not believe in miracles, 5% do not believe in heaven, 7% do nor believe in the Virgin birth, and 18% do not believe in hell.

Even more surprising is that some people who say they are nor Christian believe in the resurrection of Christ (26%) and the Virgin birth, Jesus born of Mary (27%).

Life After Death

Most of the 84% of the public who believe in the survival of the soul after death are optimists. Almost two-thirds (63%), including 75% of Christians, expect to go to heaven. Only 1% expect to go to hell. Six percent expect to go to purgatory while 11% expect to go somewhere else and 18% don't know.

The Harris Poll, February 26, 2003

                                                   Sex

"Please indicate for each one if    All
 you believe in it or not."        Adults    Male      Female
                                     %         %          %

God                                  90       86         93
Survival of the soul after death     84       78         89
Miracles                             84       77         90
Heaven                               82       75         89
The resurrection of Christ           80       73         86
The Virgin birth                     77       70         83
(Jesus born of Mary)
Hell                                 69       65         73
The devil                            68       64         73
Ghosts                               51       45         58
Astrology                            31       25         36
Reincarnation                        27       23         30

                                                Age

* Please indicate for each one if
 you believe in it or not."        18-24     25-29     30-39
                                     %         %         %

God                                 84        82        91
Survival of the soul after death    85        88        81
Miracles                            86        85        82
Heaven                              83        71        83
The resurrection of Christ          76        68        81
The Virgin birth                    76        60        79
(Jesus born of Mary)
Hell                                74        63        69
The devil                           68        62        72
Ghosts                              58        65        55
Astrology                           37        43        37
Reincarnation                       30        40        30

                                                Age

* Please indicate for each one if
 you believe in it or not."        40-49     50-64     65+
                                     %         %        %

God                                 90        91       95
Survival of the soul after death    86        82       84
Miracles                            85        83       82
Heaven                              84        80       85
The resurrection of Christ          82        81       84
The Virgin birth                    80        78       80
(Jesus born of Mary)
Hell                                72        66       68
The devil                           72        68       62
Ghosts                              57        48       27
Astrology                           23        32       17
Reincarnation                       25        26       14

For complete data tables for this survey, go to
www.harrisinteractive.com/harris poll/index.asp?PID=359.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group