More Americans are claiming they believe in God, but they're not sure what they believe, and few know who gave the Sermon on the Mount, according to a Gallup poll.
"Americans are hard pressed to say why they're Christians," pollster George Gallup, Jr., said. "They don't know what they believe or why."
The number of Americans who believe in heaven and hell is up from 6 in 10 in the last decade to 8 in 10, Gallup research indicates. Nearly 54 percent of Americans say they're religious, while 30 percent say they're spiritual and not religious, the Episcopal News Service reports. These percentages are about the same for teen-agers.
Gallup, an Episcopalian, believes America is primed for a revival. While speaking at a New York City church annual symposium in early 2002, Gallup predicted a revival will be led by three groups: African-Americans, those ages 50-64, and the millennials. African-Americans are one of the most religious people in the world, Gallup said.
"You'd be hard pressed to find even one African-American who doesn't believe in a personal God."
Most Americans, however, believe in everything from the devil to haunted houses, extraterrestrials and witches, the Gallup survey showed, leading many to create their own religions by choosing what to worship.
Gallup blamed the Episcopal Church's 30-year streak of declining membership on a lack of youth programs and evangelism, a problem other mainline traditions also have, he said.
