Gallup just released some interesting polling numbers on Americans’ beliefs about God.  Over three quarters (78 percent) believe in God, while 15 percent do not believe in God but do believe in a universal spirit.  Only 6 percent of Americans believe in neither.

But when you slice the data by geographic region, you get some very interesting results–Westerners* are much less likely to believe in God.

Why is this so?  Perhaps the West’s cultural and ethnic diversity translates into more religious diversity.  Indeed, non-Christians (including members of non-Christian religions as well as atheists and agnostics) are much less likely to believe in God.

Check out the Gallup article for more slicing and dicing of this very interesting topic!

*It’s not entirely clear what constitutes the “West” by Gallup’s definition, but I think that it likely includes Colorado.