Only 55% of Americans believe in the Devil.

This IgniteAmerica Certified Statistic is based on the following research:

Percentage of Americans that believe in the Devil:

61%    Gallup Poll, 2016

58%    Harris Poll, 2013

46%    General Social Survey, 1972-2012

54%    Baylor Religion Survey

Cultural Context:

Defying Logic
Denying the existence of the Devil is the same as denying the word of God and defining Jesus Christ as a liar. There’s no middle ground on this one. The existence of the Devil and his determination to take all of us to Hell is explained in detail throughout the Bible and in the words of Christ.

The Bible’s Authenticity
Denying the authenticity of the Bible defies the most basic of human intelligence. The Bible is comprised of 66 books, written over a period of more than 1,500 years, by 40 different people from 13 countries, on three different continents. From these extreme diversities, cultures, and time warps, comes the consistent message of moral absolutes, grace, and Salvation from a Divine Creator who loves us and wants us to spend Eternity with Him.

Practical Evidence
Getting 40 people to agree on anything is not natural. Getting 40 people from different countries and cultures, over the span of 1500 years, to agree on everything is clearly supernatural. That explains why the Bible is the world’s most published book, with over 3.9 billion copies sold over the last 50 years.

The Bible is God’s Handbook for Mankind
The Bible is the divinely inspired word of God . . . All scripture is God-breathed (given by inspiration) and is profitable for instruction, for conviction (of sin), for correction (of error) and restoration of obedience, for training in righteousness . . . learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately, behaving honorably with personal integrity and courage. (II Timothy 3:16-17)

Sharper than any two-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

Who Is the Devil?
Lucifer (Satan) was the greatest created being in the Heavens, which led to his pride and fall from grace . . . pride goeth before a fall . . . and marked the beginning of sin. Satan was banished from Heaven, along with a third of the angels (now demons), long before the creation of man.

With his fall, Lucifer became Satan the Devil, the father of lies. The account of his (the Morning Star) desire to be above God and his fall from Grace is described in Isaiah 14 . . . For you said to yourself “I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High. Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.

Luke 10:18 tells us, I saw Satan fall from Heaven like lightning, and the Apostle John gave us his God-inspired account in Revelation 12:4-9 . . . and his tail swept down a third of the stars of Heaven, and cast them to Earth . . . and the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world – he was thrown down to the earth and his angels (now demons) were thrown with him.

The Devil Unmasked
The Devil is a real person, whose thoughts and actions are in cosmic opposition to God. And while he is not omnipresent, he and his demons seize every opportunity to attack us when we are the most vulnerable. The good news is that Satan is subservient to God and only operates as God allows. Satan could not attack Job (and cannot attack you) without first getting God’s permission (Job 2:2-6). And He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear (I Corinthians 10:13).

Believers Have Power Over the Devil
Believers need not fear the Devil. There is no fear in love. Perfect love (for God and others) drives out all fear. In fact, Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7). Jesus said, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations . . . behold I am with you always. Even to the end of the age.”

Why the Unbelief in the Devil?
The root cause for 45% of our population not believing in the existence of Satan is Biblical illiteracy. While 92% of all American households have Bibles, only half of our population actually reads the Bible, and only half of those read it regularly. On a wholesale basis, Biblical illiteracy is allowing America’s naïve to avoid all thoughts of Satan and his eternal torments while being hell-bent on going there.

Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel (II Corinthians 2:4). And when you don’t know something, you tend to fill in the missing blanks with what you want to believe . . . like there is no Devil or Hell and being good gets you into Heaven. There is a way that seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof is death (Proverbs 14:12).