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Key Points
Most Americans believe in God, but doubts are more common than 's often reported.
Nearly half (46 percent) of the public express sorne arnourt of unrcertairty about the exis--
tence of God.
Nonbelievers have doubts about rGod too. More than one-quarter of atheists report that
they are not completely certain that God does not exist. Atheists express greater doubts
about the existence of God th an white evangelical Protestants do.
Religious doubting IS QartiCularly cornrnon among young adults. About only one--third
(34 e.-rcent) f young peop-le belie'- in God and are certain -bout their elie'fs Nearly
6 in 10 young adults express sorfre degree oi uncertainty about Cod's exister,,ce.
A bclief in God is among the most common religious
beliefs held by the public. it is a belief that transcends
most religious affiliations, including those who report:
having none. Theistic belief has also been quite stable
over time even as the US has experienced an unprece-
dented amount of cultural and demographic change.
By most measures, roughly 9 in 1o Americans report
beireving in God or a universal spirit. lowcvcr, per-
spectives on God are incredibly varied. A recent report
by the Pew Research Center documented the diversity
of beliefs about God, including the nature of God and
God's role in human affairs.
There are also stark differences in the degree to
which Americans are certain about their religious
belief's, }:arly measures of thcistic belief that offered
binary response options to questions about God con-
veyed a level of certainty that subsequent research
efforts began to question. A new research approach
finds that doubts about God are even more prevalent
that, previous surveys suggest ---a pattern that is cvi
dent among believers and nonbelievers alike.
Traditional Measures of Belief in God:
No Room for Doubt
For nearly the entire history of public polling, pollsters
have been asking Americans about their views of God.2
One of the earliest questions, posed by Gallup, gauged
public views about the existence of God. in 1944, Gal-
]lup asked the public the followug question: Do you,
personally, believe in a God?3 (See Figure i.) They
found that 96 percent of Americans reported that they
personally believed in God.4 Only i percent said they
did not believe.
Over the next seven decades, responses to this
question were incredibly stable. in 2017, nearly 9 in 1o
(87 percent. Americans prolfcssed a belief in God. Only
12 percent said they did not believe.5 The results sug-
gested that amid massive cuitmal, religious, and demo-
graphic changes, the US remained fundamentally a
believing nation. However, the strong, consistent affir-
mation of religious belief revealed by Gallup's question
masked a considerable degree of nuance.
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