Just 59% of 18- to 34-year-olds in the U.S. say they believe in God, a prime factor in the decline of overall belief in God from 90% in 2001 to 74% in May, a Gallup poll shows.
Overall belief in God, angels, heaven, hell and the devil, which Gallup termed the five “spiritual entities,” has reached its lowest point in 22 years, according to survey results released Thursday.
In its May survey, Gallup’s fifth since 2001, 69% percent overall said they believe angels are real, down 12 percentage points since the start of this century.
Sixty-seven percent overall said they believe in heaven, a 16-point drop from 2001, and 59% said they believe in hell, down 12 points from 2001.
Fifty-eight percent expressed belief in the devil, a 10-percentage-point decline over the 22-year period.
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“I guess this isn’t terribly surprising, given that we’ve seen recent declines in confidence in organized religion,” said Megan Brenan, a Gallup senior editor.
She said the polling firm has recorded declines in the number of people who identify with a religion, attendance at church, and increases in the number of people who list “none” as a spiritual affiliation.
“All those things have kind of been pointing in this direction. So I’d say I’m not terribly surprised. If you look at the list of the other four spiritual entities — angels, heaven, hell and the devil — those also have declined. I think it’s just the general shift, particularly among young Americans, in their belief,” Ms. Brenan said.
That “generational shift” for millennials and Generation Z is reflected in several changing indicators. A Harris Poll survey released in May by the Islamic Circle of North America showed a drop in support for religion being “important in upholding traditional family values,” for example. Sixty-two percent of 18- to 34-year-olds agreed with that statement, compared with 71% of 35- to 44-year-olds.
Millennials who do embrace the Christian faith are often disconnected from main elements of that belief system. A May survey by Arizona Christian University’s Cultural Research Center showed a 6-point decline in personal Bible reading and study and a 7-point drop in the belief that “God is the basis of truth.”
‘Crisis of purpose’ at root
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Asked to comment on the overall decline in religious belief, Rabbi Motti Seligson, a spokesman for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, said the numbers reflect a widespread existential issue.
“Indeed, there is a crisis of faith in America and in the world, which I think is actually more of a crisis of purpose,” Rabbi Seligson wrote in an email. “Unfortunately, so many think of G-d [sic], which they don’t believe in, as a scary man in the sky far removed from their day-to-day life.
“It’s clear that people are desperately searching for purpose and meaning, but that requires a foundation, which comes through faith in a loving, trusting G-d [sic], who allows us to begin looking at the world around us not as a dark jungle but a beautiful garden we’ve been entrusted to beautify,” he added.
The Rev. Steve Grunow, CEO of the Catholic evangelism ministry Word on Fire, cited Americans’ desire for “wealth, leisure, power and honors” as the “system of religious belief” that has replaced “the biblical religions.”
He said the answer lies in religious leaders calling for a return to orthodox belief. “Throughout American history, the churches, the places of worship, their ministers are constantly calling people back to the worship of the true God, the God of biblical revelation,” he said.
Steve Rhoads, vice president of church ministries for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in Charlotte, North Carolina, said a way to reach those less certain about God’s existence and benevolence is to recognize “the constant in people’s hearts. They know there’s something missing” in their lives.
“There is a nagging sense, I believe, in all people that there certainly has to be more to life than just doing my job and planning my vacation,” Mr. Rhoads said in a telephone interview. “There has to be something higher and greater and bigger than there is, of course. It’s that we’re made for a relationship with God. I don’t think that younger people disagree.”
Many unsure about faith concepts
Gallup said its May telephone interview survey revealed that 13% to 15% of respondents said they were “not sure” about the five religious entities, as the firm described the concepts.
Given the option to respond “I don’t believe in” a given entity, 28% said they don’t believe there’s a devil and 27% rejected a belief in hell. Only 12% of respondents said they don’t believe in God.
When the “unsure” option about belief in God was removed, “significantly more” respondents, 81%, said they believe in God. Gallup used the “unsure” option in its 2022 survey.
Protestants were more likely than Catholics to say they believe in each of the five religious entities, Gallup said. The majority of Catholics believe in each, the results indicated.
When Americans with no religious affiliation were questioned, no more than 25% affirmed any of the spiritual concepts. Naysayers were more likely to say they were unbelievers rather than unsure.
With regard to age, respondents older than 55 were most likely to say they were believers in the entities. Results ranged from 83% for God to 63% for the devil.
Most respondents ages 35-54 expressed belief in the five concepts. Results ranged from 73% for God to 59% for the devil.
Those who did not graduate from college were more likely than graduates to believe, but more than half of college graduates affirmed the five concepts, Gallup found.
Women were more likely to believe in God (79%) than men (70%), and that difference carried through to belief in angels, heaven and hell. Fifty-eight percent of each gender expressed belief in the devil.
Gallup’s survey showed a difference in belief in the five entities based on political affiliation. Those who said they were Republicans had the highest levels of belief, with results ranging from 87% for God to 78% for the devil.
Among independents, the results ranged from 68% for belief in God to 51% for belief in the devil. Results for self-identified Democrats ranged from 66% for God to 44% for the devil, Gallup said.
The polling organization said it received responses from 1,011 people 18 and older in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The sampling margin of error was 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
Complete question responses and trends are available online.
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.
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