Is There a Devil? Find Out Who Says So
Look to your left. Look to your right. Chances are both people you see believe in the devil and hell.
We are a nation of believers. A Harris Poll surveyed 2,201 American adults about their religious beliefs and found out some fascinating information. Most Christians--not surprisingly--believe in God, the survival of the soul after death, miracles, heaven, the Virgin birth, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But more than half of all adults also believe in ghosts. About a third believe in astrology. And more than a quarter believe they were reincarnated from other people who walked on this Earth generations ago.
This is what your friends and neighbors believe in:
- God: 90 percent
- Miracles: 89 percent
- Survival of the soul after death: 84 percent
- Resurrection of Christ: 80 percent
- Virgin birth: 77 percent
- Devil: 68 percent
- Hell: 69 percent
- Ghosts: 51 percent
- Astrology: 31 percent
- Reincarnation: 27 percent
Where will you go after you die?
- Expect to go to heaven: 63 percent
- Expect to go to hell: 1 percent
- Expect to go to purgatory: 6 percent
- Expect to go someplace else: 11 percent
- Don't have a clue: 18 percent
Here are some fun facts from The Harris Poll:
- Women are more likely than men to hold both Christian and non-Christian beliefs.
- African-Americans are more likely than whites and Hispanics to hold Christian beliefs.
- Republicans are more likely to hold Christian beliefs than members of other political parties.
- The level of religious belief is generally highest among people without a college education and lowest among those with postgraduate degrees.
- Not all people who call themselves Christians actually hold conventional Christian beliefs. For example, 1 percent of Christians do not believe in God and 8 percent do not believe in the survival of the soul after death.
- More than a quarter of those who say they are not Christian do believe in the resurrection of Jesus and the Virgin birth.