OPINION:
Are angels, demons, heaven and hell real? Do miracles still unfold today? And what do Americans believe about the supernatural?
These are essential questions that have generally not received much attention in modern research circles. It’s remarkable that such important conversations happening inside churches and culture at large have been widely ignored by social research firms — until now.
Sure, it’s true some polling firms have sporadically asked about the occult and supernatural themes, but the consistency and fervency of such inquiries are far from robust. But the American Bible Society recently released data focused on a number of important questions surrounding angels, demons, hell, miracles and more.
Though these topics are often treated as though they’re outside the mainstream, the American Bible Society found in recent research that “belief in and experiences with the supernatural are common.”
In many ways, this is unsurprising. I’ve spent the past 10 years covering stories surrounding miracles, evil and other related phenomena, and what I’ve observed has challenged and grown my faith in deeply profound ways.
I’ve traveled the nation since 2023 to host and co-produce “Investigating the Supernatural: Miracles” and “Investigating the Supernatural: Angels and Demons,” two documentaries that dive deep into fascinating arenas. I traveled America with director Jarrod Anderson asking tough questions about modern-day stories that, on paper, seemed implausible, yet the evidence said otherwise.
While it’s true that culture wants to pretend miracles, demons and related sentiments are figments of the human imagination, the new ABS data paints a fascinating picture — one affirming that the “mainstream” perspective is actually on the side of the supernatural.
“Even though America is often presented as a secular, postmodern nation, belief in spiritual realities is still very much alive,” a description of the ABS data reads. “Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) believe in spiritual beings that exist beyond the natural world.”
What’s most remarkable is that even one in three of the “nones” — those unaffiliated with religion, atheist or agnostic — report believing in spiritual beings.
Thus, these beliefs are far deeper and more profound than some might imagine, and they’re not just relegated to people who believe in God or engage in religious practices.
Miracles are probably one of the most intriguing areas of this research, as there’s profound debate over how to handle seemingly inexplicable healings that unfold all too often.
The Bible often attributes these moments to God, and we see plenty of examples of Jesus and his followers supernaturally expelling illnesses and evil. These stories are some of the most vivid and intriguing moments in the New Testament narrative.
But are they real — and do such healings still happen today? Ultimately, the ABS data proves many Americans are at least willing to entertain such prospects. It turns out, nearly half (48%) report “they have received a miraculous answer to prayer.”
It gets even more intriguing when we consider that 35% also report that “they have witnessed or experienced a divine healing.” One measure is more about the belief that a prayer has been answered in some divine way, but the other — which nearly 4 in 10 Americans embrace — is about seeing or personally experiencing a healing through inexplicable means.
And that’s truly notable.
Keep in mind these statistics were observed by ABS among all Americans, not just religiously motivated citizens. But the religious individuals surveyed certainly hold a much higher propensity for expressing that they’ve seen or experienced miracles.
Among practicing Christians, these proportions soared to 90% reporting miraculous answers to prayer. Meanwhile, 69% said they had seen or experienced a divine healing.
Belief in other supernatural sentiments was also strong. But, despite majorities expressing an embrace of a variety of elements, Americans were more likely to accept the existence of God, heaven and angels than they were of Satan, demons and hell.
Thus the “positive” elements of faith are more widely clung to, as 68% of Americans believe in God, 62% embrace heaven and 64% hold a belief in angels. On the flip side, evil is a tougher pill to swallow for many Americans, as the statistics show a lesser percentage of Americans believe in concepts such as Satan (55%), hell (53%) and demons (51%).
There are some important takeaways from these findings. First and foremost, regardless of how strange or counter-cultural the supernatural might feel, it turns out the majority of Americans believe it exists — and that’s likely due to personal experience and natural intrigue.
With so many people claiming to see or experience miracles, one would be forced to assume nearly half of the nation is crazy, making it up or experiencing some sort of delusion. Statistically, that seems implausible.
Skeptics, at the least, must contend with why so many Americans embrace biblical elements and refuse to kowtow to the obsessive naturalistic claims that miracles and the supernatural are fraudulent.
• Billy Hallowell is a digital TV host and interviewer for Faithwire and CBN News and the co-host of CBN’s “Quick Start Podcast.” Mr. Hallowell also is the author of four books.
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