Most US Jews believe in God, but don’t think He judges them
Only 33% believe in a biblical deity, compared to 80% of Christians, but just 10% of Jews say they do not believe at all
NEW YORK — The vast majority of American Jews believe in God, but not in the God of the Bible, according to a new study.
A survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted last December and released Wednesday, showed that 89 percent of American Jews believe in God, compared to 99% of Christians, 72% of unaffiliated people, and 90% of Americans overall.
But only 33% of Jews believe in a biblical God, compared to 80% of Christians. A majority of Jews believe in “some other higher power of spiritual force in the universe,” according to the study. Ten percent of Jews do not believe in God.
There was a large margin of error for the Jewish sample of the survey: 12.9%, as only 155 Jews were surveyed.
Fewer Jews than Christians also believe that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and loves everyone. Seventy percent of Jews believe God is all-loving, but fewer than 40% believe God is all-powerful and 49% say God is all-knowing. Thirty percent of Jews believe God possesses all three attributes, as opposed to three-quarters of Christians; and 23% believe God has none of them. Half of Jews say “God determines [a] mix of big and little things.”
Sixty-three percent of Jews say they talk to God, and 9% say God talks to them. But only 37% of Jews believe God will judge all people based on their deeds, as opposed to nearly 80% of Christians. About six in 10 Jews believe that God has protected or rewarded them, and about three in 10 say God has punished them.
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