If America Was A Village Of 100 People, 89 Of Them Would Believe In God

If the population of the United States was distilled into a village of just 100 people, just nine of them would be atheists.

Nearly everyone else, 89 people, would believe in God and 63 of these would be "absolutely certain" that God exists.

Pew Research has taken data on the religious affiliations of the 245 million adults of the United States from the 2014 Religious Landscape study and analysed it  as if it applied to a small community of 100 souls.

In this small town, 36 people would attend religious services each week and 33 would go monthly. Another 30 would never go.

Belief would be higher than practice. On top of 63 people "absolutely certain" of their belief, a further 20 would be fairly certain.

More than half the village would believe in heaven and hell. Just 17 would believe in heaven but not hell while three people would believe in hell but not heaven. More than half would pray daily and 42 would have moved on from the faith they were brought up in.

The Religious Landscape study found overall, people were becoming less religious, but that those who remained affiliated were as observant as they had ever been. If anything, the study found, religious people were becoming more devout. The decline in overall religious observance was due to the growing numbers of "nones", the minority that claims allegiance to no faith at all.

News
A brief history of Christmas bans
A brief history of Christmas bans

These days, Christmas is hard to miss and nearly impossible to avoid. But at various times it has been banned in different countries, including Britain. This is the story …

Organisers of Christmas evangelistic campaign thrilled with impact
Organisers of Christmas evangelistic campaign thrilled with impact

Organisers of this year's Shine Your Light Christmas evangelistic outreach have been "overwhelmed" by the response from local churches.

Reach out to others, says Salvation Army, as 1.8 million Brits set to spend Christmas Day alone
Reach out to others, says Salvation Army, as 1.8 million Brits set to spend Christmas Day alone

People are being urged to reach out after polling suggested 1.8 million UK adults will spend Christmas Day alone, even though they do not want to.

Another Christmas in hardship for Gaza church
Another Christmas in hardship for Gaza church

For Christians sheltering in the Holy Family parish in Gaza, there will be few comforts this Christmas.