Ninety-Five Percent of Americans Believe in God

According to the Gallup Poll, belief in God has always been very high in the United States, ranking in the mid-90 percent range over the last sixty years. Interestingly, while 95 percent of Americans believe in God, only eight in ten envision that the Supreme Being is one who watches over them and answers their prayers. And even fewer, six in ten, recently declare their complete trust in God.

When the Gallup Poll asked Americans how important religion was in their lives, six in ten (about 58.7 percent) say it is very important. In fifty years of measurement, the highest percentage regarding the importance of religion (75 percent) was registered in 1952; the lowest (52 percent) in 1978.

According to a 2000 Gallup poll, 64.9 percent of respondents believed that religion has the ability to answer today's problems. This particular statistic has ranged from a high of 81 percent in 1957 to a low of 53 percent in 1993.

Church membership reached a high of 76 percent in both 1943 and 1947 and dropped to a low of 65 percent in 1988 and 1990. In 1939, when Gallup first began measuring church attendance, 41 percent of Americans claimed to attend weekly worship services. The high point for weekly observance of religious faith was reached in the midand late 1950s, when 49 percent of the adult population said that they attended church or synagogue once a week.

Sources:

gallup, george jr. "americans more religious now than ten years ago, but less so than in 1950s and 1960s." gallup news service, 29 march, 2001. http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr010329.asp. 17 october 2001.