Not in resurrection of the body, according to this Scripps Howard/Ohio University poll. [1] Only 36% believe in it. This presents a problem for many theologians, since bodily resurrection is a prominent Christian teaching (see the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed):
Only 36 percent of the 1,007 adults interviewed a month ago by the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University said “yes” to the question: “Do you believe that, after you die, your physical body will be resurrected someday?” Fifty-four percent said they do not believe and 10 percent were undecided.
Americans apparently prefer spiritual or metaphoric resurrection. Despite their rejection of bodily resurrection, many Americans still embrace other basic Christian beliefs. Here are some findings of note:
The poll found that most Americans embrace other major elements of traditional Christian dogma. Ninety percent said they believe in a God or a Supreme Being, with 65 percent saying they are “absolutely certain” that God exists. Seventy-two percent said they believe in an afterlife in which they will have “some sort of consciousness,” although slightly less than half (47 percent) said they are “absolutely certain” of this.
Previous Scripps Howard polls have found evidence that Americans embrace other key elements of the creeds. A survey in 2003 found that 63 percent were “absolutely certain” Jesus died and physically rose from the dead. That poll also found 60 percent “absolutely believe” that Jesus was born of a virgin mother.
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