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Please look at this card and tell me which statement comes closest to expressing what you believe about God. I don't believe in God.....................1 I don't know whether there is a God and I don't believe there is any way to find out..................................2 I don't believe in a personal God, but I do believe in a Higher Power of some kind........................3 I find myself believing in God some of the time, but not at others........4 While I have doubts, I feel that I do believe in God….............................5 I know God really exists and I have no doubts about it...........................6
Belief in God · Asked in 16 waves, 1988–2024 · 32,333 responses · weighted estimates computed from individual responses
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. → web (2021).
Shares of people who gave an answer. Each column is one wave, evenly spaced rather than to scale in time; hover for exact shares.
| Group | Don't believe | Don't know, no way to find out |
|---|
| Poll | Field dates | Mode | Respondents | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Social Survey 2024 | 2024-04-05 to 2024-12-02 | mixed | 3,309 | 2,193 |
| General Social Survey 2022 | 2022-05-08 to 2023-01-08 | mixed | 3,544 | 2,368 |
| General Social Survey 2021 | 2020-12-03 to 2021-05-02 | web | 4,032 | 2,643 |
| General Social Survey 2018 | 2018-04-12 to 2018-11-10 | face to face | 2,348 | 2,348 |
| General Social Survey 2016 | 2016-04-05 to 2016-11-19 | face to face | 2,867 | 2,867 |
| General Social Survey 2014 | 2014-03-31 to 2014-10-13 | face to face | 2,538 | 2,538 |
| General Social Survey 2012 | 2012-03-20 to 2012-09-05 | face to face | 1,974 | 1,974 |
| General Social Survey 2010 | 2010-03-15 to 2010-08-12 | face to face | 2,044 | 2,044 |
| General Social Survey 2008 | 2008-04-17 to 2008-09-13 | face to face | 2,023 | 2,023 |
| General Social Survey 2006 |
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. → web (2021).
Shares of people who gave an answer. A group’s column is left blank in waves where its effective sample is under 50; hover for exact shares.
| Higher power |
|---|
| Believe sometimes |
|---|
| Believe with doubts |
|---|
| No doubts |
|---|
| n |
|---|
| MoE |
|---|
| All respondents | 6% | 8% | 14% | 5% | 16% | 51% | 2193 | ±3 | |
| Democrats | 10% | 13% | 13% | 6% | 13% | 45% | 599 | ±6 | |
| Independents (incl. leaners) | 7% | 9% | 19% | 6% | 15% | 45% | 973 | ±4 | |
| Republicans | 0% | 3% | 8% | 3% | 17% | 69% | 547 | ±6 |
General Social Survey 2024 · US adults 18+ living in households (English, and Spanish since 2006). Shares of people who gave an answer. n is unweighted; ± is the 95% margin of error at 50% from the weighted effective sample. Groups with an effective sample under 50 are grayed; under 20, hidden.
| 2006-03-07 to 2006-08-07 |
| face to face |
| 4,510 |
| 2,992 |
| General Social Survey 2000 | 2000-02-01 to 2000-06-25 | face to face | 2,817 | 1,276 |
| General Social Survey 1998 | 1998-02-01 to 1998-06-19 | face to face | 2,832 | 1,284 |
| General Social Survey 1994 | 1994-01-04 to 1994-06-29 | face to face | 2,992 | 1,386 |
| General Social Survey 1993 | 1993-02-05 to 1993-04-26 | face to face | 1,606 | 1,557 |
| General Social Survey 1991 | 1991-02-09 to 1991-05-06 | face to face | 1,517 | 1,359 |
| General Social Survey 1988 | 1988-02-12 to 1988-04-26 | face to face | 1,481 | 1,481 |