What we believe

by Ellen Barry

Galileo's excommunication has been recanted by the Pope. Darwin has gained a cultlike following of born-again evolutionists. And in the age-old battle between science and mysticism, it looks as if the victor has arrived -- glasses taped, calculator in hand -- and claimed our concrete, computerized world as the prize. But a recent Gallup poll found that beneath the physics books and silicon chips, belief in the supernatural is still thriving.

Percentage of Americans who believe in God, as of December 16, 1994: 96

Percentage of Americans polled who believe that UFOs are real, as of September 3, 1996: 48

Percentage who believe that UFOs have visited Earth in some form: 45

Percentage who believe "there are people somewhat like ourselves living on other planets": 38

Percentage who believe the US government "knows more about UFOs than they are telling us": 71

Percentage of Americans who believe in the devil, as of September 3, 1996: 56

Percentage who believe in demonic possession: 43

Percentage who believe in angels: 72

Percentage who believe in ESP: 48

Percentage who believe in ghosts: 30

Percentage who have felt they were in touch with someone who has died: 18

Percentage of Americans who attend church or synagogue at least once a week, as of March 27, 1997: 30

Percentage of Americans who believe that a spacecraft from another planet crashed in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947: 31

Percentage of Americans who do not believe the US Air Force report that people in New Mexico witnessed weather balloons and crash-test dummies, rather than UFOs and the bodies of aliens: 65

[All figures from Gallup polls of at least 1000 adults]

-- Liz Goldhirsh