Gallup poll finds 81% of Americans believe in God, the lowest percentage ever recorded

A Gallup poll of 1,007 American adults found that only 81 percent say they believe in God, a 6 percent drop from 2017. About 17 percent told Gallup they did not believe, while the remaining 2 percent said they were unsure.  

Belief in God has been dropping since 1967, where faith was at an all-time high at 98 percent for more than a decade, with the previous low recorded in 2014 at 86 percent. 

“Fewer Americans today than five years ago believe in God, and the percentage is down even more from the 1950s and 1960s when almost all Americans did,” Gallup said in a statement. “Still most Americans believe in God, whether that means they believe a higher power hears prayers and can intervene or not.”

The decline in faith is most notable among younger, left-leaning Americans. These groups dropped 10 or more percentage points comparing the 2022 figures to an average of polls taken between 2013 and 2017.

“Most other key subgroups have experienced at least a modest decline, although conservatives and married adults have had essentially no change,” the Gallup study reports.

Among those least likely to believe in God are 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.,” the study found.

When digging deeper in the religious beliefs of those surveyed, Gallup found that 42% of all Americans say, “God hears prayers and can intervene on a person’s behalf.” Meanwhile, 28% of all Americans said, “God hears prayers but cannot intervene.”

While belief in God has declined in recent years, Gallup reports that it has documented steeper drops in church attendance, church membership and confidence in organized religion.

Less than three-fourths of those who attend religious services weekly actually believe God hears prayers and intervenes, only 25 percent of liberals agree. 

Gallup added that traditional religious structure was on the decline, with American’s appearing to opt for more “basic faith in God.”

This latest survey did not look at individual regions of the country, but Alaska has long registered as one of the least religious states in the nation.