Survey Results

God: atheism or theism?

Population

AOS

Region

for

Exclude answers beyond respondent's first 50

Include skip/insufficiently familiar answers

1770 respondents

What the percentages mean: "Accept or lean toward P: 50% (40%)" means that 50% of respondents endorsed this answer inclusively (including multiple-answer endorsements) and 40% endorsed this answer exclusively (excluding multiple-answer endorsements).

These results should not be used for comparison to 2009 results due to different populations and parameters. For meaningful longitudinal comparisons, see the longitudinal analysis section.

Collapse accept and lean towards

Accept or lean towards:
theism

18.93% (18.64%)

Reject or lean against:
theism

0.23% (0.00%)

Accept or lean towards:
atheism

66.95% (66.72%)

Reject or lean against:
atheism

0.28% (0.00%)

Accept a combination of views

0.62%

Accept an alternative view

3.45%

The question is too unclear to answer

2.09%

There is no fact of the matter

0.96%

Agnostic/undecided

7.18%

Other

0.34%

N = 1770, excluding skipped & insufficiently familiar (15 respondents)

Alternative Views

89 target respondents indicated that they accept or lean toward an alternative view. The words used in their responses cluster as follows. These results are not filtered by AOS, region, etc.

AGNO (22): agnosticism (21) agnostic (1)
PANT (13): pantheism (12) pantheist (1)
DEPE (8): depends (7) depending (1)
MEAN (5): mean (2) meaning (2) meant (1)
NONT (4): non-theism (1) non-theistic (1) non-traditional (1) nontheistic (1)

Longitudinal comparison to 2009 survey

Comparison type

AOS

Geographic filters do not apply to this section.

Option

2009

2020

Change

Swing

Option

Accept or lean towards: theism

14.61%

12.5%

2.11

-1.76

2009	14.61%
2020	12.5%
Change	2.11
Swing	-1.76

Accept or lean towards: atheism

72.82%

74.23%

1.41

1.76

2009	72.82%
2020	74.23%
Change	1.41
Swing	1.76

Accept a combination of views

2.47%

0.31%

2.16

2009	2.47%
2020	0.31%
Change	2.16

Accept an alternative view

0.86%

2.78%

1.92

2009	0.86%
2020	2.78%
Change	1.92

The question is too unclear to answer

1.72%

2.01%

0.29

2009	1.72%
2020	2.01%
Change	0.29

There is no fact of the matter

0.54%

0.31%

0.23

2009	0.54%
2020	0.31%
Change	0.23

Insufficiently familiar with the issue

0.15%

0.15

2009	0%
2020	0.15%
Change	0.15

Agnostic/undecided

5.48%

6.94%

1.46

2009	5.48%
2020	6.94%
Change	1.46

Skipped

0.97%

0.31%

0.66

2009	0.97%
2020	0.31%
Change	0.66

Other

0.54%

0.46%

0.08

2009	0.54%
2020	0.46%
Change	0.08

N (2020) = 648
N (2009) = 931

Weighted values

Option	2009	2020	Change
Theism	19.64	19.95	0.31
Atheism	76.04	74.68	1.36

Strongest correlations with main questions (target population)

r: 0.72	Cosmological fine-tuning: design
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	124	54
Reject	11	519

n: 708

p < 0.0001

r: -0.65	Abortion: permissible
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	89	125
Reject	758	44

n: 1016

p < 0.0001

r: -0.52	Mind: physicalism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	53	250
Reject	806	368

n: 1477

p < 0.0001

r: 0.5	Meaning of life: objective
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	239	58
Reject	280	734

n: 1311

p < 0.0001

r: -0.47	Metaphilosophy: naturalism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	59	209
Reject	676	326

n: 1270

p < 0.0001

r: 0.45	Free will: libertarianism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	167	147
Reject	134	1083

n: 1531

p < 0.0001

r: 0.43	Consciousness: dualism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	102	72
Reject	114	562

n: 850

p < 0.0001

r: -0.38	Human genetic engineering: permissible
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	79	108
Reject	551	166

n: 904

p < 0.0001

r: -0.35	Cosmological fine-tuning: brute fact
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	19	158
Reject	226	304

n: 707

p < 0.0001

r: 0.35	Immortality: yes
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	159	49
Reject	325	446

n: 979

p < 0.0001

r: 0.34	Morality: non-naturalism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	115	84
Reject	149	550

n: 898

p < 0.0001

r: -0.34	Practical reason: Humean
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	19	152
Reject	242	338

n: 751

p < 0.0001

r: 0.34	Principle of sufficient reason: true
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	122	70
Reject	183	457

n: 832

p < 0.0001

r: -0.33	Other minds: future AI systems
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	39	172
Reject	368	408

n: 987

p < 0.0001

r: 0.3	Aesthetic value: objective
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	225	75
Reject	462	643

n: 1405

p < 0.0001

r: 0.3	Meta-ethics: moral realism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	279	38
Reject	729	456

n: 1502

p < 0.0001

r: -0.3	Meaning of life: nonexistent
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	16	277
Reject	252	751

n: 1296

p < 0.0001

r: -0.3	Free will: compatibilism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	126	189
Reject	851	368

n: 1534

p < 0.0001

r: 0.3	Practical reason: Aristotelian
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	114	57
Reject	199	382

n: 752

p < 0.0001

r: -0.29	Consciousness: functionalism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	28	146
Reject	293	386

n: 853

p < 0.0001

r: 0.29	Arguments for theism: cosmological
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	92	111
Reject	111	479

n: 793

p < 0.0001

r: -0.28	Law: legal positivism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	23	95
Reject	201	232

n: 551

p < 0.0001

r: 0.28	Well-being: objective list
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	147	29
Reject	339	299

n: 814

p < 0.0001

r: 0.28	Arguments for theism: moral
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	54	146
Reject	35	553

n: 788

p < 0.0001

r: -0.28	Cosmological fine-tuning: no fine-tuning
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	13	163
Reject	147	381

n: 704

p < 0.0001

r: 0.28	Gender categories: preserve
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	79	102
Reject	114	553

n: 848

p < 0.0001

r: 0.27	Personal identity: further-fact view
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	96	160
Reject	124	880

n: 1260

p < 0.0001

r: 0.27	Normative ethics: virtue ethics
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	200	104
Reject	394	724

n: 1422

p < 0.0001

r: -0.26	Normative ethics: consequentialism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	56	243
Reject	442	679

n: 1420

p < 0.0001

r: -0.26	Meaning of life: subjective
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	50	247
Reject	485	531

n: 1313

p < 0.0001

r: 0.24	Gender: biological
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	154	135
Reject	298	775

n: 1362

p < 0.0001

r: -0.24	Mind uploading: survival
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	29	167
Reject	234	417

n: 847

p < 0.0001

r: -0.24	Knowledge: empiricism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	96	159
Reject	618	377

n: 1250

p < 0.0001

r: 0.24	Hume: skeptic
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	93	64
Reject	196	400

n: 753

p < 0.0001

r: 0.24	Moral judgment: cognitivism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	273	31
Reject	792	350

n: 1446

p < 0.0001

r: -0.24	Political philosophy: egalitarianism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	78	173
Reject	567	432

n: 1250

p < 0.0001

r: 0.24	Time: A-theory
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	103	96
Reject	183	530

n: 912

p < 0.0001

r: -0.23	Units of selection: genes
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	33	72
Reject	249	195

n: 549

p < 0.0001

r: 0.23	Aim of philosophy: wisdom
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	162	138
Reject	343	816

n: 1459

p < 0.0001

r: -0.22	Footbridge: push
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	37	249
Reject	325	805

n: 1416

p < 0.0001

r: -0.22	Well-being: desire satisfaction
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	14	162
Reject	157	482

n: 815

p < 0.0001

r: -0.22	Laws of nature: Humean
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	47	236
Reject	405	686

n: 1374

p < 0.0001

r: -0.22	Gender: social
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	153	135
Reject	812	276

n: 1376

p < 0.0001

r: -0.21	Personal identity: psychological view
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	91	166
Reject	581	432

n: 1270

p < 0.0001

r: -0.21	Morality: expressivism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	9	189
Reject	94	610

n: 902

p < 0.0001

r: 0.21	Abstract objects: Platonism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	184	104
Reject	415	665

n: 1368

p < 0.0001

r: 0.2	Interlevel metaphysics: grounding
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	68	69
Reject	139	331

n: 607

p < 0.0001

r: 0.2	Politics: capitalism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	95	89
Reject	216	483

n: 883

p < 0.0001

r: 0.2	Propositional attitudes: phenomenal
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	16	114
Reject	32	503

n: 665

p < 0.0001

r: 0.19	Hard problem of consciousness: yes
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	145	37
Reject	446	273

n: 901

p < 0.0001

r: -0.19	Material composition: universalism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	26	98
Reject	123	208

n: 455

p < 0.0001

r: 0.19	Material composition: restrictivism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	69	55
Reject	120	211

n: 455

p < 0.0001

r: -0.19	Cosmological fine-tuning: multiverse
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	13	164
Reject	102	429

n: 708

p < 0.0001

r: 0.19	Metaontology: heavyweight realism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	84	53
Reject	177	276

n: 590

p < 0.0001

r: -0.19	Chinese room: understands
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	15	178
Reject	154	534

n: 881

p < 0.0001

r: 0.19	Political philosophy: communitarianism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	121	129
Reject	268	728

n: 1246

p < 0.0001

r: -0.18	Belief or credence: credence
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	33	109
Reject	194	338

n: 674

p < 0.0001

r: -0.18	Causation: counterfactual/difference-making
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	40	119
Reject	270	342

n: 771

p < 0.0001

r: -0.18	Trolley problem: switch
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	179	89
Reject	869	248

n: 1385

p < 0.0001

r: -0.18	Well-being: hedonism/experientialism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	13	162
Reject	101	537

n: 813

p < 0.0001

r: -0.18	Gender categories: revise
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	74	107
Reject	395	276

n: 852

p < 0.0001

r: 0.17	Eating animals and animal products: omnivorism (yes and yes)
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	213	102
Reject	569	649

n: 1533

p < 0.0001

r: 0.17	Justification: nonreliabilist foundationalism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	74	102
Reject	154	456

n: 786

p < 0.0001

r: -0.17	Truth: deflationary
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	43	243
Reject	334	774

n: 1394

p < 0.0001

r: 0.17	Propositions: simple entities
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	26	125
Reject	26	494

n: 671

p < 0.0001

r: -0.17	Properties: classes
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	10	151
Reject	74	411

n: 646

p < 0.0001

r: 0.16	Temporal ontology: presentism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	45	95
Reject	80	404

n: 624

p < 0.0001

r: 0.16	Concepts: nativism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	65	80
Reject	162	385

n: 692

p < 0.0001

r: -0.16	Free will: no free will
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	11	303
Reject	174	1045

n: 1533

p < 0.0001

r: 0.16	Causation: primitive
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	57	100
Reject	120	485

n: 762

p < 0.0001

r: 0.16	Belief or credence: belief
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	66	76
Reject	161	371

n: 674

p < 0.0001

r: -0.16	Experience machine: yes
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	23	273
Reject	189	962

n: 1447

p < 0.0001

r: -0.15	Eating animals and animal products: veganism (no and no)
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	29	285
Reject	275	942

n: 1531

p < 0.0001

r: -0.15	Gender categories: eliminate
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	19	162
Reject	128	543

n: 852

p < 0.0001

r: -0.15	Morality: naturalist realism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	53	150
Reject	256	446

n: 905

p < 0.0001

r: 0.15	Properties: transcendent universals
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	57	104
Reject	90	396

n: 647

p < 0.0001

r: -0.15	Temporal ontology: eternalism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	46	94
Reject	231	253

n: 624

p: 0.0003

r: -0.15	Consciousness: identity theory
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	12	161
Reject	115	562

n: 850

p < 0.0001

r: 0.14	External world: idealism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	46	274
Reject	60	1163

n: 1543

p < 0.0001

r: 0.14	Aim of philosophy: happiness
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	64	226
Reject	133	1000

n: 1423

p < 0.0001

r: 0.14	Grounds of intentionality: primitive
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	34	97
Reject	55	421

n: 607

p: 0.0005

r: -0.14	Philosophical methods: empirical philosophy
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	156	150
Reject	807	410

n: 1523

p < 0.0001

r: 0.14	Truth: correspondence
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	201	85
Reject	605	505

n: 1396

p < 0.0001

r: -0.14	Extended mind: yes
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	71	98
Reject	374	288

n: 831

p < 0.0001

r: -0.14	Philosophical methods: conceptual engineering
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	91	215
Reject	544	673

n: 1523

p < 0.0001

r: 0.13	A priori knowledge: yes
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	276	43
Reject	924	301

n: 1544

p < 0.0001

r: 0.13	Aim of philosophy: goodness/justice
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	102	193
Reject	262	893

n: 1450

p < 0.0001

r: 0.13	Zombies: metaphysically possible
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	111	168
Reject	266	791

n: 1336

p < 0.0001

r: 0.13	Vagueness: metaphysical
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	71	170
Reject	198	805

n: 1244

p < 0.0001

r: -0.13	Teletransporter: survival
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	77	182
Reject	457	555

n: 1271

p < 0.0001

r: 0.12	Perceptual experience: qualia theory
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	56	164
Reject	135	719

n: 1074

p < 0.0001

r: 0.12	Capital punishment: permissible
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	55	150
Reject	131	666

n: 1002

p < 0.0001

r: 0.12	Philosophical methods: intuition-based philosophy
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	193	113
Reject	610	607

n: 1523

p < 0.0001

r: -0.12	Morality: constructivism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	33	168
Reject	162	540

n: 903

p: 0.0004

r: -0.11	Other minds: cats
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	180	31
Reject	725	51

n: 987

p: 0.0003

r: 0.11	Political philosophy: libertarianism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	53	196
Reject	138	859

n: 1246

p < 0.0001

r: -0.11	Metaontology: deflationary realism
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	32	105
Reject	149	302

n: 588

p: 0.007

r: 0.11	Proper names: Fregean
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	96	97
Reject	331	539

n: 1063

p: 0.0003

r: 0.11	Theory of reference: descriptive
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	48	96
Reject	133	454

n: 731

p: 0.0032

r: 0.11	Logic: classical
God: theism	Accept	Reject
Accept	199	60
Reject	520	336

n: 1115

p: 0.0003

Strongest correlations with demographic questions (target population)

r: 0.4	AOS: Philosophy of Religion
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	98	227
Reject	35	1244

n: 1604

p < 0.0001

r: 0.38	Philosopher: Aquinas
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	50	205
Reject	5	909

n: 1169

p < 0.0001

r: 0.25	AOS: Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	37	288
Reject	11	1268

n: 1604

p < 0.0001

r: 0.22	Philosopher: Augustine
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	20	235
Reject	2	912

n: 1169

p < 0.0001

r: 0.2	Philosopher: Kierkegaard
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	17	238
Reject	4	910

n: 1169

p < 0.0001

r: -0.2	Philosopher: Hume
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	17	238
Reject	196	718

n: 1169

p < 0.0001

r: 0.18	Philosopher: Reid
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	22	233
Reject	10	904

n: 1169

p < 0.0001

r: 0.18	Philosopher: Aristotle
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	82	173
Reject	141	773

n: 1169

p < 0.0001

r: 0.16	Philosopher: Plato
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	32	223
Reject	39	875

n: 1169

p < 0.0001

r: 0.15	Region of nationality: United States
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	206	104
Reject	585	619

n: 1514

p < 0.0001

r: 0.14	Philosopher: Leibniz
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	21	234
Reject	19	895

n: 1169

p < 0.0001

r: -0.14	Tradition: Analytic
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	249	71
Reject	1103	163

n: 1586

p < 0.0001

r: 0.12	Region of PhD: United States
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	178	39
Reject	599	325

n: 1141

p < 0.0001

r: 0.11	Tradition: Other tradition
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	42	278
Reject	100	1166

n: 1586

p < 0.0001

r: 0.1	Region of affiliation: United States
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	221	109
Reject	704	599

n: 1633

p < 0.0001

r: -0.1	Region of nationality: Oceania
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	5	305
Reject	74	1130

n: 1514

p: 0.0002

r: 0.1	Philosopher: Husserl
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	13	242
Reject	16	898

n: 1169

p: 0.001

r: -0.09	Philosopher: Lewis
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	13	242
Reject	98	816

n: 1169

p: 0.0019

r: 0.09	AOS: Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	28	297
Reject	60	1219

n: 1604

p: 0.0003

r: -0.08	AOS: Philosophy of Mind
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	48	277
Reject	281	998

n: 1604

p: 0.0011

r: 0.08	AOS: Metaphysics
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	92	233
Reject	250	1029

n: 1604

p: 0.0015

r: -0.08	AOS: Philosophy of Language
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	31	294
Reject	231	1048

n: 1604

p: 0.0018

r: -0.08	AOS: Philosophy of Cognitive Science
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	14	311
Reject	139	1140

n: 1604

p: 0.0025

r: 0.07	Tradition: Continental
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	29	291
Reject	63	1203

n: 1586

p: 0.003

r: -0.07	Region of affiliation: Oceania
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	10	320
Reject	73	1230

n: 1633

p: 0.0032

r: -0.07	Region of PhD: United Kingdom
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	16	201
Reject	140	784

n: 1141

p: 0.0139

r: 0.07	Philosopher: Anscombe
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	12	243
Reject	24	890

n: 1169

p: 0.0147

r: -0.07	Region of nationality: Europe
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	43	267
Reject	260	944

n: 1514

p: 0.0077

r: -0.07	Philosopher: Russell
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	10	245
Reject	66	848

n: 1169

p: 0.0246

r: -0.07	AOS: Metaphilosophy
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	8	317
Reject	65	1214

n: 1604

p: 0.0086

r: -0.06	AOS: General Philosophy of Science
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	25	300
Reject	158	1121

n: 1604

p: 0.01

r: 0.06	AOS: Continental Philosophy
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	24	301
Reject	54	1225

n: 1604

p: 0.0106

r: -0.06	Philosopher: Quine
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	15	240
Reject	89	825

n: 1169

p: 0.0376

r: 0.06	Philosopher: Socrates
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	12	243
Reject	28	886

n: 1169

p: 0.0391

r: -0.06	Region of nationality: Canada
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	16	294
Reject	99	1105

n: 1514

p: 0.0189

r: -0.06	AOS: Social and Political Philosophy
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	36	289
Reject	225	1054

n: 1604

p: 0.0207

r: -0.06	Philosopher: Frege
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	12	243
Reject	79	835

n: 1169

p: 0.049

r: -0.05	AOS: Philosophy of Physical Science
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	7	318
Reject	48	1231

n: 1604

p: 0.0379

r: -0.05	Region of affiliation: Canada
God: theism	Yes	No
Accept	15	315
Reject	97	1206

n: 1633

p: 0.0432