For an overwhelming majority of Americans, uttering the phrase "for heaven's sake" isn't just an idle expression. A new study shows the majority believe heaven is exactly where they're headed.
A national poll of 1,000 adults conducted by Barna Research Group found 76 percent of Americans believe heaven exists and 64 percent believe they're headed for the Pearly Gates, reports the Los Angeles Times.
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The California-based independent marketing research firm, which has tracked trends related to beliefs, values and behaviors since 1984, says the percentage of those who believe is the same as a decade ago.
Among the believers, nearly half, or 46 percent, described heaven as a "state of eternal existence in God's presence." Almost a third, or 30 percent, said heaven was "an actual place of rest and reward where souls go after death." One in seven, or 14 percent, said heaven is just "symbolic" and 5 percent said there was no afterlife, according to the Times.
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Meanwhile, although 71 percent of respondents said they believe in hell, less than 1 percent actually expect to experience it.
"We're optimists at heart," the Times quotes Robert Johnston, a professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, as commenting. "If you really believe in hell, you wouldn't want to be there. By definition, hell is the denial of goodness."
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According to the findings, 39 percent of respondents described hell as "a state of eternal separation from God's presence," while 32 percent said they believe it is "an actual place of torment and suffering where people's souls go after death."
Thirteen percent called hell a symbol of an "unknown bad outcome after death."
The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
