American Views on Reasons to

Believe in a Creator

Phone Survey of 1,000 Americans

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Methodology
 The phone survey of Americans was conducted
September 26-October 5, 2014
 The calling utilized Random Digit Dialing. 60% of
completes were among landlines and 40% among cell
phones
 Maximum quotas and slight weights were used for
gender, region, age, ethnicity, and education to more
accurately reflect the population
 The completed sample is 1,000 surveys
 The sample provides 95% confidence that the sampling
error does not exceed +3.5%
 Margins of error are higher in sub-groups
Survey Responses
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72% think that since the universe has

organization, there is a creator who
designed it
100%

80%

60% 52%

40%

19%
20%
11% 9% 9%

0%
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Not sure
Disagree Disagree Agree Agree

Q: “Since the universe has organization, I think there is a creator who designed it”
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66% think that since people have

morality, there is a creator who defines
morality
100%

80%

60%
43%
40%
24%
20% 13% 13%
8%

0%
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Not sure
Disagree Disagree Agree Agree

Q: “Since people have morality, I think there is a creator who defines morality”
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79% say our existence means someone

created us
100%

80%
64%
60%

40%

20% 15%
8% 8% 5%
0%
Strongly Somewhat Somewhat Strongly Not sure
Disagree Disagree Agree Agree

Q: “The fact that we exist means someone created us”

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Significant Differences

Region
Age
Gender
Education Level
Ethnicity
Religious Preference
Catholic/Protestant
Born again/Evangelical/Fundamentalist
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Significant Statistical Differences

Comparisons were made to determine if there are any
significant statistical differences among region of the
country, age, gender, and education level.
Region Age Gender Education Level
Northeast 18-24 Male HS degree or less
Midwest 25-34 Female Some college
South 35-44 Bachelor’s

West 45-54 Graduate degree

55-64
65+

Notes: Region is defined by US Census locations

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Significant Statistical Differences

Comparisons were made to determine if there are any
significant statistical differences among ethnicity, religious
preference, denomination, and Born again/ Evangelical/
Fundamentalist.
Born again /
Religious Evangelical /
Ethnicity Preference Denomination Fundamentalist
White Christian* Protestant / Yes
Nondenominational
African American Other Religions Catholic No / not sure
Hispanic Nonreligious**
*includes Catholic, Protestant, Nondenominational, and Orthodox
**includes Atheist, Agnostic, and No Preference

Note: Those who consider themselves Born again, Evangelical,

or Fundamentalist are labeled “Evangelical” in this report
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Since the universe has organization, I think

there is a creator who designed it
• Men are more likely to disagree (22% v 17%)
• Northeasterners (75%) and Southerners (74%) are more likely to agree than
Midwesterners (64%)
• Those age 18-24 (66%), 25-34 (66%), and 35-44 (66%) are less likely to
agree than those age 45-54 (79%) and 55-64 (80%)
• Whites (75%) are more likely to agree than Hispanics (66%)
• Those with a high school degree or less (66%) are less likely to agree than
those with some college (79%) or a Bachelor’s (76%)
• Those with a graduate degree (65%) are less likely to agree than those with
some college (79%)
• Christians (81%) are more likely to agree than Other Religions (66%). Both
are more likely to agree than Nonreligious (46%)
• Evangelicals are more likely to agree (85% v 66%)
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Since people have morality, I think there is a

creator who defines morality
• Northeasterners (72%) and Southerners (69%) are more likely to agree than
Westerners (58%)
• Those age 18-24 (60%), 25-34 (55%), and 35-44 (58%) are less likely to
agree than those age 45-54 (73%), 55-64 (77%), and 65+ (74%)
• Those with a graduate degree (33%) are more likely to disagree than those
with some college (22%)
• Christians (77%) are more likely to agree than Other Religions (64%). Both
are more likely to agree than Nonreligious (33%)
• Evangelicals are more likely to agree (83% v 60%)
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The fact that we exist means someone created

us
• Women are more likely to agree (85% v 73%)
• Northeasterners (87%) and Southerners (82%) are more likely to agree than
Westerners (71%)
• Northeasterners (87%) are more likely to agree than Midwesterners (75%)
• Those age 18-24 (69%), 25-34 (71%), and 35-44 (74%) are less likely to
agree than those age 45-54 (87%), 55-64 (86%), and 65+ (86%)
• Those with some college (84%) are more likely to agree than those with a HS
degree or less (77%) or a graduate degree (73%)
• Christians (91%) are more likely to agree than Other Religions (72%). Both
are more likely to agree than Nonreligious (43%)
• Evangelicals are more likely to agree (95% v 73%)
American Views on Reasons to
Believe in a Creator

Phone Survey of 1,000 Americans