Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Belief in God and Life-After-Death Among American Adults

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Religious Beliefs, Evolutionary Psychiatry, and Mental Health in America

Part of the book series: Religion, Spirituality and Health: A Social Scientific Approach ((RELSPHE,volume 1))

  • 708 Accesses

Abstract

The chapter summarizes the findings of large national surveys of U.S. adults and studies of convenience samples of American college students about their belief in God and life-after-death. This research shows that most Americans believe in God and that the percentage of people in the U.S. who believe in God is higher than the percentage in almost every other country in the world. However, Americans hold many different beliefs about the nature of God, some of which are overlapping and some of which are contradictory. Moreover, some beliefs about the nature of God are rooted in the Old Testament, some are rooted in the New Testament, and some have no Biblical connection at all. The most commonly held beliefs about God among Americans are that God is ever-present, just, kind, loving, forgiving, and fatherly; less commonly held beliefs are that God is critical, punishing, severe, and wrathful. The chapter also presents results showing that most Americans believe in life-after-death, but these beliefs take various forms. The most common American beliefs about the afterlife are that it entails peace and tranquility, union with God, and reunion with loved ones.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The 2007 and 2010 Baylor Religion Surveys each sampled over 1500 American adults. The findings reported below regarding beliefs about God are based on my own analyses of the data from these 2007 and 2010 surveys. The 2007 dataset was downloaded from The Association of Religious Data Archives; the 2010 dataset was obtained from the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion.

  2. 2.

    The 2010 Baylor Religion Survey only listed eight adjectives describing God.

  3. 3.

    The General Social Survey (GSS) is conducted every two years by the National Opinion Research Center of the University of Chicago. The GSS randomly samples adults from the contiguous 48 states of the U.S. All the data are collected by face-to-face interviews.

References

  1. Kosmin, B. A., & Keysar, A. (2008). American religious identification survey: Summary report. Hartford: Trinity College.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Noss, J. B. (1969). Man’s religions (Fifth ed.). New York: MacMillan Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Smith, H. (2009). The world’s religions. New York: Harper Collins.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Obayashi, H. (Ed.). (1992). Death and afterlife: Perspective of world religions (Contributions to the study of religion). New York: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Segal, A. F. (2004). Life after death: A history of the afterlife in the religions of the West. New York: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Raphael, S. P. (1996). Jewish views of the afterlife. Northvale: Jason Aronson Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Sonsino, R., & Syme, D. B. (1990). What happens after I die? Jewish views of life after death. New York: VAHC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Newport, F. (2011). More than 9 in 10 Americans continue to believe in God. Princeton: Gallup. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/147887/americans-continue-believe-god.aspx

  9. Piazza, T., & Glock, C. Y. (1979). Images of God and their social meanings. In R. Wuthnow (Ed.), The religious dimension: New directions in quantitative research. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Cranney, S. (2013). Do people who believe in God report more meaning in their lives? The existential effects of belief. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 52(3), 638–646.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Sherkat, D. E. (2008). Beyond belief: Atheism, agnosticism, and theistic certainty in the United States. Sociological Spectrum, 28(5), 438–459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Smith, A. (2008). Beliefs about God across time and countries. Chicago: National Opinion Research Board.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Gorsuch, R. L. (1968). The conceptualization of God as seen in adjective ratings. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 7(1), 56–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Spilka, B., Armatas, P., & Nussbaum, J. (1964). The concept of God: A factor analytic approach. Review of Religious Research, 6(1), 28–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Kaplan, A. (1984). The Judaic view of God. Judaism, 33(4), 402–415.

    Google Scholar 

  16. King James Holy Bible (1611/1999). Dayton: Greyden Press.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Schaefer, C. A., & Gorsuch, R. L. (1992). Dimensionality of religion: Belief and motivation as predictors of behavior. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 11(3), 244–254.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Foster, R. A., & Keating, J. P. (1992). Measuring androcentrism in the Western God-concept. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 31(3), 366–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Hammersla, J. F., Andrews-Qualls, L. C., & Frease, L. G. (1986). God concepts and religious committment among Christian university students. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 25(4), 424–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Nelsen, H. M., Cheek, N. H., & Au, P. (1985). Gender differences in images of God. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 24(4), 396–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Tamayo, A., & Desjardines, L. (1976). Belief systems and conceptual images of parents and God. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 92(1), 131–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Roof, W. C., & Roof, J. L. (1984). Review of the polls: Images of God among Americans. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 23(2), 201–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Froese, P., & Bader, C. D. (2010). America’s four Gods. New York: Oxford Univeristy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Noffke, J. L. M. S. H. (2001). Denominational and age comparisons of God concepts. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 40(4), 747–756.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Hoffman, L., Hoffman, J. L., Dillard, K., Clark, J., Acoba, R., Williams, F., et al. (2008). Diversity and the God image: Examining ethnic differences in the experience of God for a college-age population. Journal of Psychology & Theology, 36(1), 26–41.

    Google Scholar 

  26. The fatherhood of God. (1903). The Biblical World, 22(3), 236–237.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Kunkel, M. A., Cook, S., Meshel, D. S., Daughtry, D., & Hauenstein, A. (1999). God images: A concept map. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 38(2), 193–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Klein, A. C. (1998). Buddhism. In C. J. Johnson, & M. G. McGee (Eds.), How different religions view death and afterlife. (pp. 47–63). Philadelphia: The Charles Press.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Reynolds, F. E. (1992). Death as threat, death as achievement: Buddhist perspectives with particular reference to the Theravada tradition. In H. Obayashi (Ed.), Death and afterlife: Perspectives of the world religions. (pp. 157–167). New York: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Johnson, C. J., & McGee, M. G. (Eds.). (1998). How different religions view death & afterlife. Philadelphia: The Charles Press.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Hopkins, T. J. (1992). Hindu views of death and afterlife. In H. Obayashi (Ed.), Death and afterlife: Perspectives of the world religions. (pp. 143–155). New York: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Pearson, A. M. (1998). Hinduism. In J. C. Johnson, & M. G. McGee (Eds.), How different religions view death and afterlife. (pp. 109–131). Philadelphia: The Charles Press.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Smith, J. L., & Haddad, Y. Y. (2002). The Islamic understanding of death and resurrection. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  34. Davis, J. A., Smith, T. W., & Marsden, P. V. (2006). General Social Survey cumulative codebook, 1972–2006. Storrs: Roper Center.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Greeley, A. M., & Hout, M. (1999). Americans’ increasing belief in life after death: Religious competition and acculturation. American Sociological Review, 64(6), 813–835.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Harley, B., & Firebaugh, G. (1993). Americans’ belief in an afterlife: Trends over the past two decades. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 32(3), 269–278.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Schwadel, P. (2011). Age, period, and cohort effects on religious activities and beliefs. Social Science Research, 40, 181–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Lamm, M. (1988). The Jewish way in death and mourning. New York: Jonathan David Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Routledge, R. L. (2008). Death and afterlife in the Old Testament. Journal of European Baptist Studies, 9(1), 22–39.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Werblowsky, R. J. Z., & Wigoder, G. (1966). The encyclopedia of the Jewish religion. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Adler, J. J. (1994). The Bible and Life after death. Jewish Bible Quarterly, 22(2), 85–90.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Mitton, C. L. (1965). Life after death: The after-life in the New Testament. Expository Times, 76(11), 332–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Chittick, W. C. (1992). Your sight today is piercing: The Muslim understanding of death and afterlife. In H. Obayashi (Ed.), Death and afterlife: Perspectives of the world religions. (pp. 125–139). New York: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Psychosocial Research, Massapequa, NY, USA

    Kevin J. Flannelly

Authors
  1. Kevin J. Flannelly
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Flannelly, K.J. (2017). Belief in God and Life-After-Death Among American Adults. In: Religious Beliefs, Evolutionary Psychiatry, and Mental Health in America. Religion, Spirituality and Health: A Social Scientific Approach, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52488-7_15

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52488-7_15

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-52487-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-52488-7

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation