The poll, which was conducted by the Associated Press/NORC, surveyed 1,002 U.S. adults who say they believe in God. The poll was conducted from April 30 to May 4 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage point.
Among the 63 percent, 31 percent said they feel strongly that the coronavirus is a sign from God while the same percentage felt “somewhat strongly.” According to the poll, ‘born-again’ Protestants were most likely to feel that the coronavirus was a sign from God, with 43 percent feeling strongly, while 28 percent of both “mainline Protestants,” and Catholics felt the same.
When the poll focused on different races, it found that 73 percent of black Americans and 65 percent of Hispanic Americans felt that the virus was a sign from God, while 48 percent of white Americans said the same.
Additionally, the poll also that a majority of religious Americans, 55 percent, believe that God will protect them from being infected with the coronavirus, while 9 percent said they think God has abandoned humanity.
While a large number of religious Americans believe the virus is a sign from God, the poll found that this same group has decreased some of their religious activities. According to the poll, 38 percent of religious Americans said they donated money, food or supplies to a religious organization or group, which is a large decrease from 2019, where 53 percent said they did the same.
The poll also saw a decrease in the number of religious Americans volunteering with religious groups as well as helping or checking in on their neighbor.
According to the poll, 18 percent of Americans with a religious affiliation said they have volunteered with a religious group since the coronavirus pandemic began, while 34 percent of the group volunteered with organizations in 2019. Sixty-one percent of religious Americans said they have helped or checked in on their neighbors since the pandemic began, which shows a decrease of 2 points from 2019, where 65 percent said they checked in during the year.
Among Americans overall, without a religious affiliation, the poll found that 43 percent believe foreign governments are to blame for the pandemic, while 37 percent said it was caused by the U.S. government.
The new coronavirus, which causes the respiratory disease COVID-19, continues to spread throughout the U.S., which has remained the virus’s epicenter. According to a tracker provided by Johns Hopkins University, there are currently over 1.4 million cases in the U.S., and at least 86,851 deaths.
