Where Do You Stand on Faith?

   Take the survey here

   "In Search of the Spiritual" article

                                                        SURVEY RESULTS

* Percentages may not total to 100% for each question due to non-responses Which of the following four choices best describes you.  * 118552 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Spiritual, but NOT religious 32%  24%  Religious, but NOT spiritual 3%  9%  Religious AND spiritual 52%  55%  NOT spiritual and NOT religious 11%  8%  Don't know 2%  4%  How important is spirituality in your daily life?  * 118567 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Very important in your daily life 61%  57%  Somewhat important 19%  27%  Not too important 8%  7%  Not at all important 11%  7%  Don't know 1%  2%  What is your present religion?  * 118630 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Christian--Evangelical Protestant 27%  33%  Christian--Non-Evangelical Protestant 11%  25%  Christian--Roman Catholic 14%  22%  Christian--Mormon 3%  1%  Christian--Orthodox Church 1%  0%  Other Christian/Christian unspecified 15%  4%  Jewish 1%  1%  Muslim 1%  1%  Hindu 1%  1%  Buddhist 1%  1%  Other religion 4%  1%  Atheist/Agnostic/No religion 14%  6%  Religion Undesignated 7%  4%  Comparing your religion today with the religion in which you were raised by your family, is your present religion the same, MOSTLY the same, mostly DIFFERENT, or completely different?  * 118667 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  The same 24%  38%  Mostly the same 33%  30%  Mostly different 16%  9%  Completely different 13%  11%  Not raised in any religion 6%  3%  Became an atheist/agnostic 7%  4%  Don't know 1%  5%  If you answered MOSTLY DIFFERENT or COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, what religion were you raised in?  * 53466 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Christian--Evangelical Protestant 17%  22%  Christian--Non-Evangelical Protestant 21%  28%  Christian--Roman Catholic 34%  32%  Christian--Mormon 2%  3%  Christian--Orthodox Church 1%  0%  Other Christian/Christian unspecified 11%  3%  Jewish 2%  1%  Muslim 1%  1%  Hindu 0%  1%  Buddhist 1%  0%  Other religion 2%  0%  Atheist/Agnostic/No religion 5%  7%  Religion Undesignated 4%  2%  If you have any brothers or sisters, is their religion today the same or mostly the same as the religion in which they were raised by your family?  * 115599 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Religion is the same/mostly the same 57%  62%  Any changed religion or stopped practicing religion 25%  23%  Don't have any (living) brothers or sisters 5%  8%  Not raised in any religion 6%  1%  Don't know 7%  6%  What is your marital status?  * 118424 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Married 57%  52%  Living with a partner 5%  4%  Divorced 9%  10%  Separated 1%  3%  Widowed 2%  9%  Never married/Single 26%  22%  If you are married or live with a partner, is their religion  * 81352 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  The same as your religion 57%  70%  Mostly the same as your religion 19%  14%  Mostly different as your religion 6%  5%  Completely different as your religion 7%  10%  Spouse/Partner is atheist/agnostic/has no religion 11%  1%  If you practice a religion, do you think of yourself as  * 103127 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Very traditional 19%  27%  Somewhat traditional 42%  44%  Not traditional 23%  19%  On the cutting edge 7%  6%  Don't know 8%  4%  If religious, what is the main reason you practice?  * 98487 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  To forge a personal relationship with God 58%  39%  To be a better person and live a moral life 13%  30%  To find happiness and peace of mind 7%  17%  To connect with something larger than yourself 6%  10%  To give your life meaning and structure 4%  8%  To be part of a community 1%  3%  Other most important reason 3%  1%  None rated very important 4%  10%  Don't know 4%  2%  How often do you attend church or worship services?  * 116323 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Every day 1%  2%  Several times a week 17%  13%  Once a week 30%  30%  Once or twice a month 8%  15%  A few times a year 10%  13%  Seldom 14%  14%  Never 19%  12%  Don't know 0%  1%  How often do you participate in a spiritual activity not connected with a traditional church or house of worship, either alone or with others?  * 116937 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Every day 33%  21%  Several times a week 18%  11%  Once a week 7%  11%  Once or twice a month 6%  14%  A few times a year 7%  9%  Seldom 11%  12%  Never 16%  19%  Don't know 2%  3%  How often do you read the Bible, Koran, or some other sacred text?  * 117322 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Every day 17%  20%  Several times a week 20%  13%  Once a week 9%  12%  Once or twice a month 8%  11%  A few times a year 9%  9%  Seldom 16%  16%  Never 20%  17%  Don't know 0%  2%  How often do you pray?  * 117296 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Every day 55%  64%  Several times a week 15%  10%  Once a week 3%  5%  Once or twice a month 4%  4%  A few times a year 3%  2%  Seldom 7%  6%  Never 13%  8%  Don't know 1%  1%  How often do you meditate?  * 116877 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Every day 19%  29%  Several times a week 16%  10%  Once a week 5%  6%  Once or twice a month 7%  4%  A few times a year 5%  2%  Seldom 16%  10%  Never 28%  36%  Don't know 4%  3%  In which one of the following situations do you personally feel most connected with God or the divine?  * 117077 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  When you are praying alone or meditating 37%  40%  When you are in nature 22%  21%  When you are in a house of worship 16%  21%  When you are praying with others 5%  6%  When you a reading a sacred text 3%  2%  None of these/Doesn't apply 15%  6%  Don't know 2%  4%  Do you believe that the Universe was created by God?  * 117837 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Yes 75%  80%  No 9%  10%  Don't believe in God 6%  1%  Don't know 10%  9%  Which of the following do you think is the most important purpose of prayer?  * 116668 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  To seek God's guidance 32%  27%  To thank God 16%  23%  To be close to God or the divine 26%  19%  To help others 3%  13%  To improve a person's life 6%  9%  None of these/Other 13%  4%  Don't know 4%  5%  Which one of the following four statements best describes your views about what happens when someone dies?  * 117167 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  It's all over, there is no soul 9%  6%  The soul goes to heaven or hell 61%  67%  There is no heaven or hell, but the soul lives on in some kind of spiritual realm 15%  13%  The soul is reincarnated into another creature 5%  5%  Don't know 10%  9%  If you are an Evangelical Protestant, how often do you explore spiritual ideas or practices of other religious faiths in addition to your own?  * 56230 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Often 9%  7%  Sometimes 25%  23%  Hardly ever 18%  33%  Never 29%  35%  Don't know 19%  2%  If you are a Non-Evangelical Protestant, how often do you explore spiritual ideas or practices of other religious faiths in addition to your own?  * 52539 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Often 13%  6%  Sometimes 25%  25%  Hardly ever 15%  31%  Never 27%  37%  Don't know 21%  1%  If you are Catholic, how often do you explore spiritual ideas or practices of other religious faiths in addition to your own?  * 34784 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Often 13%  8%  Sometimes 23%  27%  Hardly ever 13%  28%  Never 28%  36%  Don't know 23%  1%  If you are not Christian, how often do you explore spiritual ideas or practices of other religious faiths in addition to your own?  * 35279 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Often 18%  17%  Sometimes 23%  31%  Hardly ever 11%  32%  Never 28%  12%  Don't know 20%  8%  For Evangelical Christians--can a good person who isn't of your religious faith go to heaven or attain salvation, or not?  * 54885 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Yes 48%  68%  No 30%  22%  Don't know 22%  10%  For non-Evangelical Christians--can a good person who isn't of your religious faith go to heaven or attain salvation, or not?  * 44452 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Yes 63%  83%  No 12%  10%  Don't know 25%  7%  For Catholics--can a good person who isn't of your religious faith go to heaven or attain salvation, or not?  * 33244 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Yes 64%  91%  No 7%  3%  Don't know 29%  6%  For non-Christians--can a good person who isn't of your religious faith go to heaven or attain salvation, or not?  * 30329 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Yes 55%  73%  No 10%  3%  Don't know 36%  24%  Regardless of how you might have voted in recent elections, do you consider yourself a Republican, Democrat, or Independent?  * 116733 web responses RESPONSES WEB  NEWSWEEK / Beliefnet  Republican 39%  30%  Democrat 26%  33%  Independent 22%  30%  No party/Not interested in politics 8%  4%  Other party 2%  0%  Don't know 3%  3%  The percentages labeled NEWSWEEK Magazine represent the results of the national poll, not including your responses. The percentages labeled WEB are results from this online poll and include your responses. The NEWSWEEK poll was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, which interviewed 1,004 adults by telephone on Aug. 2-4. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points. Percentages may not total 100 percent for each question due to non-responses and rounding.