Most Americans believe in God, ghosts

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 29 (UPI) -- A majority of people in the United States say they believe in God and angels, and that Jesus is the son of God, a poll found.

Eighty-two percent of adult Americans said they believe in God, unchanged since the question was last asked by Harris Interactive in 2005, the company reported Thursday.

The poll found 41 percent of respondents said they believe in ghosts, 35 percent said they believe in extraterrestrials and roughly one-third of respondents said they believe in witches.

The poll of 2,455 U.S. adults conducted online between Nov. 7 and Nov. 13 found that 42 percent of Americans accept Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, while 39 percent believe in creationism.

Among Christians, the poll found that born-again believers are more likely than Catholics or mainline Protestants to believe in the traditional elements of Christianity. For example, 95 percent of born-again Christians believe in miracles, compared to 87 percent of Catholics and 89 percent of Protestants.

Meanwhile, 92 percent of born-again Christians believe in hell, compared to 75 percent of Catholics and 78 percent of Protestants.