77 Percent of Americans Believe in Healing Power of Prayer; Far Fewer Believe in Creationism
Nearly 80 percent of American voters believe that prayer has healing powers but less than half believe the biblical account of creation as told in the Bible.
A Fox News Poll released Wednesday shows that 77 percent of voters believe prayer could literally help heal someone from illness or injury, while just 20 percent do not. Three percent said they were unsure.
More specifically, 93 percent of those who regularly attend religious services said they believe prayer heals; 91 percent of white evangelical Christians, 89 percent of blacks, 85 percent of conservatives, and 84 percent of those who belong to the Tea Party movement agree.
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The survey also revealed that 45 percent of those polled believe the biblical account of creation as told in the Bible, down from 50 percent in 1999. Twenty-one percent, meanwhile, support the theory of evolution as outlined by Darwin and other scientists, up from 15 percent in 1999. Of the sample group 27 percent said both explanations are true and seven percent did not know.
Among white evangelical Christians, 67 percent of those polled said they believe in creationism, four percent in evolution, and 24 percent said they accept both explanations.
The poll found that 53 percent of conservatives were more likely to accept creationism as true versus 33 percent of liberals. On the other hand, 37 percent of liberals were more than three times as likely as 11 percent of conservatives to believe in evolution, according to Fox News.
Fox also reported that Texas Governor Rick Perry was seen as the top choice for GOP primary voters who believe in creationism as well as those who believe in evolution.
The Fox News Poll was conducted Aug. 29 through Aug. 31 under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R). A national sample of 911 voters was interviewed via live telephone questioning for the survey.
The numbers were selected randomly and the phone numbers for each state are proportional to number of voters located in each state.
The total sample has a margin of error that is plus or minus three percent.
The Fox News Poll can be found at: www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/07/fox-news-poll-creationism/
