Fewer than 60% of US young adults believe in God, poll shows

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A new survey by Gallup shows there has been a substantial decline in religious faith among young adults over the last 20 years, with fewer than 60% now saying they believe in God, the Washington Examiner reports.

According to the Gallup poll released on Thursday, just 59% of American 18- to 34-year-olds now believe in God, compared to 90% in 2001, the Examiner reports.

Thursday’s survey found that 67% of young adults believe in heaven, a 16-point drop from 2001, and 59% said they believe in hell, a drop of 12 points from 2001, the Examiner said. Fifty-eight percent said they believe in the devil, a 10-point drop from 2001.

“I guess this isn’t terribly surprising, given that we’ve seen recent declines in confidence in organized religion,” Megan Brenan, a Gallup senior editor, said in a statement about the findings. Brenan added that Gallup has recorded overall declines in the number of people attending church and identifying with a particular denomination, 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,” Brenan said. “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.”

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