Americans have long been some of the world’s most religious people. Wayne Baker, sociologist on the senior faculty of the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, recently blogged about research that confirms America remains near the top of the list of countries when it comes to the percentage of people who believe strongly in God without any doubts. More specifically, of the 30 countries included in the International Social Survey Program, the United States ranked fourth for those choosing “I know God really exists and I have no doubts about it” from a list of possible belief statements.
- Philippines – 84%
- Israel – 66%
- Poland – 62%
- United States – 61%
So What
Interestingly, whether or not individual Americans believe this strongly in a higher power almost all believe. Other research over the last several decades regularly finds that 95-97% of Americans believe in a god, gods or a higher power. This research found 97% of Americans selected one of the belief statements that affirmed belief (meaning only 3% chose “I don’t believe in God”). This percentage places America in fourth place behind only Chile, Cyprus and the Philippines.
- Why do you think Americans have higher rates of belief in God than most other countries? higher rates of strong belief (without doubt)?
- Do you think America will retain relatively high rankings on this matter for the foreseeable future? Why or why not?