76 percent of Americans personally believe in the existence of a God

[Nye Bevan]

America is still a God-fearing nation, one ready to listen to the Almighty and do as ordered, according to a new poll.

The survey from YouGov.com reveals that 76 percent of the nation personally believes in the existence of a God, and half of those say that they have done something because God told them to. Including non-believers, this makes up 38 percent of the entire country.

The poll found that Americans who believe in God are also much more likely to blame or give credit for weather and disasters to God, not man-made global warming or politicians. Overall, 53 percent of those who believe say God has some role in weather and disasters, with 36 saying it happens most or all of the time. Just 17 percent said God has no role in weather.

The poll is an interesting tour of the nation’s God-believing and habits. It found that born-again Christians are more likely to do something because God told them. It also found that more Protestants than Catholics, by a margin of 56 percent to 39 percent, say they have acted on God’s instructions.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/poll-76-believe-in-god-38-do-what-god-asks/article/2537977

[Deep13]

1. so 1 in 4 does not believe.

More than I thought.

[LostOne4Ever]

13. ^ This!!! (nt)

[Xipe Totec]

2. I believe in the existence of a God, but I certainly do not fear him/her/it

Last edited Mon Oct 28, 2013, 10:47 PM - Edit history (1)

Nor do I think that God really gives a flying fuck what we do or don't do.

[bowens43]

3. How very sad that so many still feel a need to believe in magical,invisible, omnipotent beings......

[Iggo]

25. Yep.

[BlueJazz]

4. "they have acted on God’s instructions". THAT's what scares me the most.

"It's time for the earth to end...I know it is...He said so"
..
.
.

[Nye Bevan]

5. It does have kind of an ominous ring to it.

"I'm acting on God's instructions" is probably not a smart thing to say to a TSA examiner, for example.

[warrant46]

6. Epic of Gilgamesh

'With the first light of dawn the gods of the abyss rose up; the seven judges of hell raised their torches, lighting the land with their livid flame. A stupor of despair went up to heaven when the god of the storm turned darkness to daylight, when he smashed the land like a cup. The tempest raged, gathering fury as it went, it poured over the people like the tides of battle; a man could not see his brother nor the people be seen from heaven. Even the gods were terrified, they fled to the highest heaven, they crouched against the walls, cowering like curs. The very Queen of Heaven cried out like a woman in travail.'



They are going to destroy us all

[legcramp]

7. Probably explains this photo opp yesterday

President Obama and his family attended Sunday services at St. John's Episcopal Church, which is across Lafayette Park from the White House.

So there's that.

[hrmjustin]

9. The Obama's are believers.

[muriel_volestrangler]

23. Going by facial expressions, 1 in 4 of them may well not believe in God

Malia doesn't looked that keen about church, anyway.

[Drale]

26. Not necessarily

she's a teenager and just because someones not happy about going to church doesn't mean they don't believe in God. I am whole heartily against organized religion but I believe in God.

[AtheistCrusader]

30. LOL

[voteearlyvoteoften]

8. What percentage are hedging their bets?

Maybe another 25% ?

[longship]

12. Pascal's wager?

I doubt it. I like Bertrand Russell's answer, here related by Richard Dawkins from The God Delision:

Bertrand Russell was asked what he would say if he died and found himself confronted by God, demanding to know why Russell had not believed in him. ‘Not enough evidence, God, not enough evidence,’ was Russell’s (I almost said immortal) reply. Mightn’t God respect Russell for his courageous sceptism (let alone the courageous pacifism that landed him in prison in the First World War) far more than he would respect Pascal for his cowardly bet-hedging? And, while we cannot know which way God would jump, we don’t need to know in order to refute Pascal’s Wager. We are talking about a bet, remember, and Pascal wasn’t proclaiming that his wager enjoyed anything but very long odds. Would you bet on God’s valuing dishonesty faked belief (or even honest belief) over honest scepticism?

[hrmjustin]

10. That is interesting. My siblings and parents are not believers and I am.

[dorkzilla]

11. Interesting. Did they stop believing or did you start?

I don't think I've ever heard of a situation quite like that. I'm the only one in my family that absolutely does not believe, the others do but aren't practicing.

[hrmjustin]

14. We were all raised RC and all went to Catholic grammar school.

My parents were never big believers at all, but we were taught to respect it. I alone attended mass and once my siblings went to high school they announced they were non-believers. I became Episcopalian at 18 because the RCC's view on LGBT issues. My parents grew up pre-vatican II Catholics. They just lost faith in the church at some point in their lives.

[dorkzilla]

15. My mom and her parents are from Ireland so big time RC

Dad came from an Anglican/catholic mix but only believes there is a God, minus the dogma. I was, and am still, fascinated by theology, but the more I learned, the less I believed. Still, the history of the Church is a topic I'm drawn to especially the Reformation and the Church of England, but purely from a historical perspective.

[hrmjustin]

16. My fathers father was Episcopalian and I joined the church he was baptized in 1891.

Theology is very interesting. It is good to have a healthy skepticism of it. When I wanted to become a priest in the RCC church when I was a teen they were angry and did not want it. When I was rejected by the junior seminary they were happy. I later realized it was for the best.

They are happy I found the church I have. I am part of a progressive believing community.

[dorkzilla]

18. In many ways, I'm envious

Though I'm agnostic, I do miss the fellowship. I realized that the reason I used to love my church was all to do with our awesome Monsignor who ended up being a very close family friend who came to dinner often, and we'd drink wine and have lively debates. When he died, I stopped going.

[hrmjustin]

19. They have great fellowship at Univeral Unitarian Churches. Have you tried them?

[dorkzilla]

20. Oh yes! There are two really great ones up here in the burbs

One I attended a lot as a young girl, the other as an adult. I just feel like a hypocrite. Everyone I met there believes to one degree or another, and I just don't. I'm sure they don't care, but I do.

[hrmjustin]

21. Well I think they accept you as you are. You have to do what you feel comfortable with.

[cleanhippie]

24. Believes what to one degree or another?

UU's have no particular god nor is there a requirement to believe in one at all.

There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote:

The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

http://www.uua.org/beliefs/principles/

You may be surprised to find that non-believers (especially of an abrahamic-type god) make up a majority of the congregations. Many people go there for exactly the same reason others go to church: fellowship and community.

[dimbear]

17. Here's the most famous citation of this behavior from the Book of Amos:

7"Furthermore, I withheld the rain from you While there were still three months until harvest. Then I would send rain on one city And on another city I would not send rain; One part would be rained on, While the part not rained on would dry up. 8"So two or three cities would stagger to another city to drink water, But would not be satisfied; Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD.…
*************

It's very hard to pin down what Yahweh may have originally been precisely. Here he seems to be a weather god, but in other places a nature god or a cattle god. This is probably evidence of the heterogeneous origins of the old fellow.

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

22. I'm nowhere near the shape and condition I used to be in

but if an Ice Giant shows up, I'll gladly volunteer to go up and kick it in the balls (or foot - which ever I can reach) in honor of the Gods and the Halls in which my ancestors reside.

[cbayer]

27. Gee, I wonder if he could have taken this relatively benign data and made it more inflammatory.

Anyway, I would be very, very cautious about drawing conclusions from a poll that does not describe it's methods and includes no statistical analysis.

To do otherwise would be very irrational and not at all reasonable.

[CJCRANE]

28. "The poll found that Americans who believe in God

are also much more likely to blame or give credit for weather and disasters to God".

Which leaves me wondering how many atheists blame or give credit for weather and disasters to God?

[Starboard Tack]

29. Given that god is a concept, it is not surprising.

Each individual has his/her own concept of God. Many equate God with nature. So without knowing each individual's personal concept, the poll has little meaning.

[Bradical79]

31. I find this very worrisome.

"Just 17 percent said God has no role in weather. " Yikes.