Nearly 80% of Americans Pray to God, Study Reveals
By Movieguide® Contributor
Just under 80% of Americans pray to God, according to a new study.
In a recent podcast appearance, Christian Post reporter Leonardo Blair discusses statistics from a recently published General Social Survey, which provides insights into the state of Christianity in America.
“What the study does, is it reveals how much of a crisis of faith the nation is in right now,” Blair said. “You have more than half the country fully accepting the existence of God or simply just deciding there is no God.”
The study found that 49.6% or Americans believe in God without a doubt, 16.4% said they believe in God with doubts, 5.4% said they believe sometimes, and 14.4% said they believe in a higher power. Only 6.4% of respondents said that they didn’t believe in God at all.
“[Those statistics] really give you an idea of the complexity of the faith landscape we’re dealing with when it comes to God,” Blair said.
The complexity of the faith landscape becomes even more muddled when considering that the study also found that just under 80% of Americans pray to God. People may have major doubts about his existence, or even think that he doesn’t exist, but they will still appeal to him for things that are out of their control.
“There’s still that awareness, that spiritual awareness, that people have and that searching that’s still there,” Blair explained.
“Many times when people pray, even for Christians, we recognize that our human efforts just aren’t enough by themselves. So we reach into the supernatural, we reach into the unknown, even though we are unsure. Even when we feel loss, we are still searching,” Blair continued.
“The fact that people still pray in such large numbers should tell people in the faith community, people that are involved in ministry that there is still hope, there is still an opportunity for you if you want to do something positive to connect,” he added.
In a country and society that seems ever hostile to Christianity, the statistics from this study should provide hope for Christians. Although people are falling away from the faith in droves, the innate, God-placed desire to commune with the divine remains. As long as people are still responsive to that, Christians will always have an opportunity to make an impact and bring people back to Christ.
Ultimately, God is in control. The best we can do is pray for wisdom on how we can better reach those who are searching, but it is not up to us to change their hearts and change their minds, that is up to God.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
