Portraits of American Life Study

Religious Beliefs

The following questions were asked of all persons, both affiliated and not affiliated with a religious congregation. Respondents could strongly agree, somewhat agree, neither agree nor disagree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree.

"I definitely believe in God."

Over 90% of the population agreed with this statement. While most people believe in God, who is this God? What does God mean to them? COMMENT.

"God is not personal, but something like a cosmic life force."

While about half of the population agrees with this statement, there is some variation among the religious traditions. Over 70% of Jewish respondents agreed. About 60% of Black Protestants, Catholics, and Unaffiliated were in agreement. Almost half of Mainline Protestants agreed, while 35% of Evangelicals agreed.

"It doesn’t matter much what I believe so long as I’m a good person."

Strongly and Somewhat Agree:
	Jewish	83%
	Unaffiliated	79%
	Catholic	64%
	Other Affiliated	60%
	Average	53%
	Mainline Protestant	47%
	Black Protestant	44%
	Evangelical Protestant	30%

Given the teachings of most faith traditions these are rather surprisingly high percentages of people saying it matters more what they do than what they believe. Of course, what each person defines as a good person is subjective. In your faith tradition do you see these results as encouraging or discouraging? COMMENTS.

"Muhammad was the holy prophet of God"

Strongly and Somewhat Agree:
	Muslim	100%
	Other Affiliated	23%
	Black Protestant	23%
	Jewish	21%
	Catholic	15%
	Protestant - Other	14%
	Average	13%
	Unaffiliated	13%
	Mainline Protestant	11%
	Evangelical Protestant	7%

Interestingly, thirteen percent of the population agreed that Muhammad was the holy prophet of God, while Muslims constitute only one percent of the U.S. population.

"Jesus Christ physically rose from the dead."

Strongly and Somewhat Agree:
	Mormon	100%
	Evangelical Protestant	93%
	Black Protestant	90%
	Mainline Protestant	84%
	Catholic	84%
	Protestant-Other	77%
	Average	75%
	Muslim	53%
	Spiritual	42%
	Hindu	32%
	Buddhist	17%
	Jewish	3%
	Agnostic/Atheist	2%

"I experienced a supernatural miracle, an event that could not have happened without the intervention of God or a spiritual force."

Strongly and Somewhat Agree:
	Black Protestant	73%
	Evangelical Protestant	67%
	Protestant-Other	56%
	Average	52%
	Other Affiliated	52%
	Catholic	50%
	Mainline Protestant	44%
	Unaffiliated	34%
	Jewish	25%

"An angel has directly helped me in a time of need."

Strongly and Somewhat Agree:
	Black Protestant	76%
	Catholic	53%
	Evangelical Protestant	52%
	Average	47%
	Protestant-Other	45%
	Mainline Protestant	41%
	Other Affiliated	41%
	Unaffiliated	29%
	Jewish	18%

"The Devil, demons or evil spirits exist."

Strongly and Somewhat Agree:
	Evangelical Protestant	86%
	Black Protestant	82%
	Protestant-Other	73%
	Mainline Protestant	68%
	Average	67%
	Catholic	66%
	Other Affiliated	53%
	Unaffiliated	43%
	Jewish	18%

"I believe in reincarnation, that people have lived previous lives."

Strongly and Somewhat Agree:
	Hindu	62%
	Spiritual	54%
	Jewish	43%
	Black Protestant	39%
	Buddhist	37%
	Catholic	32%
	Average	29%
	Mainline Protestant	25%
	Agnostic/Atheist	24%
	Evangelical Protestant	14%

Findings regarding religious beliefs indicate that persons of a religious tradition are sometimes willing to accept tenets of other major faiths – that religious beliefs are not always mutually exclusive. Examples are half of American Muslims believe Jesus Christ physically rose from the dead while about 40% of Jewish respondents and Black Protestants believe in reincarnation. Accepting beliefs beyond ones’ own religious tradition is less likely to occur when that belief contradicts ones’ own convictions. Examples are only 3% of Jewish respondents believing Jesus Christ physically rose from the dead and only 14% of Evangelicals reporting a belief in reincarnation. COMMENT.

Notice how the location of the Jewish respondents varies across the belief questions. How do you make sense of what is occurring? COMMENT.