| Statistics Below
are the results of a survey that was posted on this site. In the survey people agreed or
disagreed with the following statements.
| God exists. |
| While I was growing up, my parents
believed in God. |
| Christians are more likely to lead
morally outstanding lives than atheists. |
| Historically, religion has done
more harm than good. |
| For atheists only:
When religion comes up in a conversation with casual
acquaintances, I hesitate to tell them I am an atheist. |
| For atheists only:
If my co-workers and supervisor knew I was an atheist, it
would adversely affect my career opportunities. |
Results from
the United States
Results from outside the
United States
Respondents with parents who believed in God
while they were growing up:
| |
Parents believed |
| Believe God exists |
88% |
| Do not believe God exists |
78% |
Below is other data I have gathered from Gallup, which has been conducting polls of the American
public since 1935.
Do you believe that religion can answer all or most of today's
problems, or that religion is largely old-fashioned and out of date?
Gallup did a survey in February 1999 that weighs how a U.S.
presidential candidate's religion influences voters. Below are the percentages of
people who would not vote for a candidate of the corresponding affiliation.
This poll was done in July of 1999 and
asks Americans if they are in favor of or oppose the following.
| |
Favor |
Oppose |
No Opinion |
| Allowing public schools to display the Ten Commandments |
74% |
24% |
2% |
| Allowing students to say prayers at graduation ceremonies as part of the official program |
83% |
17% |
- |
| Using the Bible in literature, history, and social studies classes |
71% |
28% |
1% |
| Allowing daily prayer to be spoken in the classroom |
70% |
28% |
2% |
| Teaching creationism ALONG WITH evolution in public schools |
68% |
29% |
3% |
| Teaching creationism INSTEAD OF evolution in public schools |
40% |
55% |
5% |
A March 2001 USA Today showed the
results of an Alloy Poll survey in which 1,440 adults gave their
opinions regarding prayer in public schools. Here are the
results.
| Think school prayer should be voluntary |
62% |
| Think school prayer should be mandatory |
22% |
| Think school prayer should be banned |
16% |
A 1999 national survey by Scientific
American magazine showed that fewer than 10% of National Academy of
Sciences members believe in God. Religions
of the World
|
