On the other hand, more than six-in-ten respondents in Greece, Poland and Italy say religion is very or somewhat important in their lives. Respondents who describe their religion as “nothing in particular” are even more likely to express belief in a deity; nine-in-ten take this position, mirroring the U.S. None of the survey respondents who describe themselves as atheists believe in God as described in the Bible. Democrats and those who lean Democratic, by contrast, are far less likely to believe in God as described in the Bible (45%), and are more likely than Republicans to believe in another kind of higher power (39% vs. While very few agnostics (3%) say they believe in God as described in the Bible, a clear majority (62%) say they believe in some other kind of spiritual force. Seven-in-ten religiously unaffiliated adults believe in a higher power of some kind, including 17% who say they believe in God as described in the Bible and 53% who believe in some other form of higher power or spiritual force in the universe.

Among Republicans and those who lean toward the GOP, seven-in-ten say they believe in God as described in the Bible. In stark contrast with non-white Democrats, just one-third of white Democrats say they believe in God as described in the Bible, while 21% do not believe in a higher power of any kind. And just one-third of college graduates say God determines all or most of what happens in their lives, far below the share who say this among those with less education. Far fewer adults who have obtained some college education say they believe in God as described in the Bible (53%). And among college graduates, fewer than half (45%) say they believe in the biblical God. In scenarios where the answer should be scientifically knowable in principle, but we do not yet have adequate information to provide that answer, invoking a deity is only a slightly less bad idea than in the previous instance. Christians believe that God possesses all three of these attributes – that the deity is loving, omniscient and omnipotent. Christians by and large paint a portrait that reflects common Christian teachings about God.

For instance, 93% of Christians believe God (or another higher power in the universe) loves all people, regardless of their faults. Roughly one-quarter of religious “nones” (27%) say they do not believe in a higher power of any kind. When Americans Say They Believe in God, What Do They Mean? Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. Zoroastrian Creed,” which reads, “On three noble ideals be ever intent: The good thought well thought. Process Studies Vol. 23, No. 2, Special Issue on Process Thought and Buddhism (SUMMER 1994), pp. Hunter: If I’m wrong, then we’re at war; God help us all. Additionally, while 85% of Republicans believe God loves all people, eight-in-ten believe God is all-knowing, and seven-in-ten believe God is all-powerful; Democrats are less likely to express each of these views.

Disaffiliated Americans express significant skepticism about the societal benefits of religion, even more than those who have never identified with a religious tradition. Accompanied by a local Lebanese reporter, Hikmat Sharif, who works for Agence France-Presse, Lewis enters the town of Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me.” And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. Most believe it will do so consciously (rather than in a sleep-like state). His acts and his ways will perfectly match what is in our hearts. Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth. Some two centuries later, about 1072, Adam of Bremen compiled his Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum (History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen), which included a description of the lands in the north, then part of the ecclesiastical province of Hamburg.