More than eight in 10 Americans say they believe in God, and a majority of them say they think “God is telling humanity to change how we are living” amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to a new survey.
A total of 82 percent of Americans confess a belief in God, with most of them (80 percent) saying they believed in God before the pandemic and 2 percent saying their belief in God developed after the pandemic, according to the survey by the University of Chicago Divinity School and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Among Americans who believe in God, 63 percent agree with the statement that “God is telling humanity to change how we are living” (31 percent agree strongly and 31 percent say they “somewhat” agree with the statement).
Additionally, 55 percent of those who believe in God say they think “God will protect me from being infected.”
Only 9 percent of those who believe in God think “God has abandoned humanity.”
Seventeen percent of Americans say they don’t believe in God.
Among all Americans – not just those who believe in God – about 52 percent say, “God is telling humanity to change how we are living.”
Meanwhile, 26 percent of Americans say the outbreak has made their “sense of religious faith or spirituality” stronger, while 1 percent say it’s now weaker. Most Americans (73 percent) say it’s the same.
Among other findings in the survey:
- A majority of Americans (51 percent) say they or someone in their household has experienced “some” loss of income due to the outbreak, while around one-third (31 percent) say they or a house member has experienced a “significant” income loss.
- One-third (32 percent) say they or a member of their house has been laid off.
- 11 percent say they or someone in their home has lost health insurance.
- 14 percent say they, a close friend or relative has been diagnosed with the coronavirus.
The poll of 1,002 adults was conducted April 30-May 4.
Photo courtesy: ©GettyImages/LucaLorenzelli
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
