When contemplating a conversation with God about getting into heaven, Americans are split between pointing to their goodness or trusting in Jesus. Considering the question, “If God asked you, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’ what would you say?” 38% say they would respond that they trust in Jesus Christ alone, while 34% say they would respond that they are a good person. Few (4%) say they would bring up that they’ve been a very religious person. Some don’t know (12%) or prefer not to answer (5%). Another 7% don’t believe God exists.
“A quarter of Americans see heaven as a question mark or less,” said McConnell. “But the rest are evenly divided between relying on someone else—Jesus Christ—or themselves to be admitted. There’s a stark difference between heaven being a badge of affirmation for your human life or a mark of God’s ownership of your current life.”
Willing to Talk
Around two-thirds of Americans say they are open to different types of spiritual conversations with a friend. Two in 3 (66%) say they’re at least open to having a conversation about faith with a friend, including 41% who say they are very open. Similarly, 66% of Americans are at least open to specifically discussing the Christian faith with a friend, including 40% who are very open. And 65% are at least open, including 36% who are very open, to talking with a friend about having a relationship with God.
Even among the religiously unaffiliated, few say they’re not open to having spiritual conversations with a friend at all. One in 5 (20%) aren’t at all open to a conversation about faith with a friend. One in 4 (26%) say they are not open to having a conversation with a friend about the Christian faith or having a relationship with God, yet 20% say they’re very open to either.
Fewer Americans are open to these types of conversations with people they don’t know, but still, at least half will talk about spiritual matters with a stranger. Half of Americans (51%) say they’re at least open to faith discussions with a stranger, with 26% saying they’re very open. When asked about having conversations with a stranger about the Christian faith specifically, 52% say they’re at least open, with 27% saying they’re very open. Slightly more than half say they are open (24%) or very open (30%) to talking with someone they don’t know about having a relationship with God.
The religiously unaffiliated are less open than others, but still most have some level of openness to spiritual conversations with strangers. Fewer than 2 in 5 (38%) say they’re not open at all to having a conversation about faith with a stranger. Almost half of religiously unaffiliated Americans (45%) are not open to talking with a stranger about the Christian faith, but 14% are very open. More than 2 in 5 (43%) say they have no openness to talking with a stranger about having a relationship with God, but 15% of the religiously unaffiliated are very open.
“Religion is a taboo topic for some, but actually very few people feel this way if it is between friends,” said McConnell. “There is typically no way of knowing ahead of time if someone hates the subject of faith, but the majority are open to you bringing it up even if they don’t know you.”
When meeting someone new, 71% of Americans are at least open to hearing about that person’s life story. A similar number (69%) say they’re at least open to hearing the life story from someone new if it includes faith.
