Nearly seven in 10 Americans say they believe in the existence of the devil, with Republicans and conservative Christians being most likely to do so, according to a Gallup report.
The report, released this week but based on a poll taken in May 2001, showed that 68% of Americans believe in the devil, while 20% do not and 12% say they are unsure. By comparison, another recent Gallup poll showed 85% of Americans saying they believe in God.
Among conservative Christians, 83% said they believe in the existence of the devil while 70% of Catholics said they did.
Among Republicans, 79% said they believe in the devil, while 67% of Democrats and 59% of independents did. Conservative Christians have become a major constituency in the Republican party.
Regionally, belief in the devil was considerably more common in the South (79%) than in the East (56%). Residents of the West (69%) and Midwest (64%) fell in between.
Belief in the devil did not vary much by age. But only 55% of those with postgraduate degrees said they believe in the devil while 70% of those with only a high school diploma and 68% of those with only a bachelor's degree did so.
The telephone poll of 1,012 adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
