Three-Quarters of Americans Affirm Jesus' Virgin Birth; Women, Blacks More Likely to Believe
Most Americans believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, as told in the New Testament of the Bible, according to a poll by Pew Research Center which also found that women are more likely to believe in the miracle than men.
"For most Americans, the Christmas story of Jesus' birth still has real meaning," Pew reported on Wednesday, Christmas Day. "Nearly three-quarters (73%) of adults say they believe Jesus was born of a virgin."
The poll was conducted Dec. 3-8 among 2,001 American adults and says with 95 percent level of confidence that it has an error margin of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points. About 69 percent of men said that they believe Jesus was born of a virgin, while 78 percent of women affirmed the same. And while as much as 90 percent of black people said that they believe in the virgin birth, only 71 percent of white people agreed.
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Protestants and Roman Catholics in America largely expressed the same level of belief in the virgin birth, 87 to 86 percent, respectively, though differences again were found among the racial categories within those denominations.
Thirty-two percent of unaffiliated people in America also said they believe in the virgin birth.
Pew noted that this statistic "might seem surprising," but pointed out to its 2012 poll which found that 18 percent of unaffiliated people in America still describe themselves as religious, while 37 percent say they are spiritual but not religious.
Two-thirds of U.S. adults younger than 30 expressed belief in the virgin birth, compared to three-quarters of those aged 30 and over.
In a December Public Religion Research Institute survey, most Americans also indicated that they will celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. Forty-two percent of those who were celebrating said they view it as "strongly religious," and another 31 percent said that it is "somewhat religious." Only 26 percent of those celebrating Christmas indicated they will do so in a non-religious manner.
Denominational differences were even more sharpened in the PRRI poll. While 71 percent of white evangelical Protestants said they will celebrate Christmas as a strongly religious holiday, only 38 percent of white mainline Protestants said the same.
