(NewsNation) — Fewer Americans than ever before believe in God, begging the question, why?
A new Gallup poll found 81% of Americans believe in God, the lowest figure tallied since the poll began in 1944. That number is also down from a 2017 which showed 87% of American believed in God.
Nick Fish, the president of American Atheists, believes 81% might be too high of a figure. He says even less people than that believe in God. Fish believes a stigma surrounding atheism is going away in the country, leading to more people feeling comfortable identifying as an atheist.
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“That normalization, being able to be out and see ourselves out in public is a really big thing that’s changing a lot of minds,” Fish said.
The poll results also show 40% of people believe God hears prayers and can intervene on world affairs for people, 28% said God can’t intervene, 11% think God does neither.
Rev. Richie Butler, the senior pastor a St. Luke Community Methodist Church in Dallas, believes people’s views of God might be changing.
“What I’ve discovered and what I hear is, ‘I’m not Christian, I’m not religious, but I’m spiritual,’” Butler said.
Butler is not surprised either that the number of people who believe in God is dropping.
“I think part of the challenge is as part of our society evolves, I think the church has always been slow to want to embrace that evolution,” Butler said.
The least likely people to believe in God, according to the poll, is young adults and people who lean left on the political spectrum.
Women, people of color, non-college graduates and married people are the most likely to believe in God.
The poll shows belief in God is on the decline, but Gallup also found church attendance is dropping, as is membership and confidence in organized religion.