The majority of U.S. adults believe in God, but percentage who believe is down six percentage points from 2017 and is the lowest in Gallup’s polling since the 1940s. It’s lower with liberals and younger Americans.
Between 1944 and 2011, more than 90% of Americans believed in God. Now, 81% believe in God while 17% say they do not believe in God.
The poll was the May 2-22 “Values and Beliefs” survey, first conducted in 1944 and repeated every few years since then. In the early years, 98% of Americans said they believed in God; by 2011, 92% said they did. In 2013, it dropped to 87%, and this year dropped again to 81%.
Gallup has also in recent years asked other questions aimed at measuring belief in God or a higher power. All find the vast majority of Americans saying they believe. When given the option, 5% to 10% have said they were “unsure,” the polling company said.
While younger leftists are less believing, conservatives and married adults are generally at the same percentage as before, with over 90% believing in God.
The groups with the largest declines are also the groups that are currently least likely to believe in God, including liberals (62%), young adults (68%) and Democrats (72%). Belief in God is highest among political conservatives (94%) and Republicans (92%), reflecting that religiosity is a major determinant of political divisions in the U.S., according to Gallup.
