9 in 10 Americans Believe in God or a Higher Power, New Survey Finds
Perhaps the demise of religion in the United States has been greatly exaggerated.
A survey of 2,005 American adults released Thursday revealed that about nine in 10 Americans say they believe in God or a higher power, and around eight in 10 believe there is something beyond the natural world, even if they cannot see it.
The findings are part of a report from the Wheatley Institute, a research institute at Brigham Young University, that asserts America’s religiosity and spirituality cannot be narrowed down to simple questions such as “How often do you go to church?” and “How often do you attend?”
Dig deeper, the report suggested, and pollsters will find that Americans are deeply spiritual, even if their beliefs don’t fit neatly into a specific religious box.
“An individual’s relationship with the divine is not defined by which attendance box they check,” the report found. “It runs through their thoughts, their feelings, their habits, and their sense of meaning—the silent prayer of gratitude, the unexpected sense of being spoken to, the symbols displayed in the home, the hope about what comes after death.”
For example, the survey also found that:
-- 77 percent of Americans thank God at least monthly, and about four in 10 do so multiple times each day.
-- 47 percent of Americans say they have had a spiritual experience within the past month.
-- 58 percent say they felt God was telling them something in the past month.
-- Only about 20 percent of Americans say they have never read from the Bible or cannot recall reading from it.
Belief in an afterlife is widespread. In fact, only 5 percent of the religiously affiliated and 25 percent of the religiously unaffiliated believe that people “cease to exist entirely” after death.
One-fourth of religious “nones” say they pray daily.
“Americans are less churched, not less religious,” said Shima Baradaran Baughman, Woodruff J. Deem Professor of Law and a Distinguished Fellow at the Wheatley Institute. “Americans rank God far above party, even in a season of political noise. What we need now is to reinvest in the institutions that give that faith a home.”
Paul Lambert, Religion Initiative Director at Wheatley Institute, said the survey’s goal was to “determine how spiritual beliefs transcend the boundaries of religious affiliation.”
“What we found,” he said, “is that most Americans have an interior religious life that is robust and active, with many praying, thanking, reading and listening – often daily and often alone.”
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/ Andrew Merry
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.
Listen to Michael's Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.
Originally published September 25, 2026.
