The finding emerges from an analysis by Ryan Burge, associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, who publishes articles and his analyses at “Graphs About Religion” on Substack.
Burge analyzed nearly five decades of data collected through the General Social Survey, conducted regularly since 1973. The survey posed a straightforward question: “Do you believe there is a life after death?” and respondents could answer simply “yes” or “no.” The stability and gradual rise of afterlife belief over the decades is notable, increasing modestly from 76% in 1973 to around 82% in 2022.
Particularly striking is the growing belief among religiously unaffiliated individuals, a group commonly known as the “nones.”
In the early 1970s, the nones were evenly split on the afterlife question. However, their belief significantly increased, surpassing 60% by the year 2000, and it has remained consistently high since then.
The analysis also indicates a marked increase in belief in an afterlife among non-religious Americans, climbing from roughly 50% in the 1970s to around 60% today.