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CV NEWS FEED // Ahead of Super Bowl LIX this weekend, a new poll has discovered that most Americans say God doesn’t determine the winner of the game or care about the outcome.
Responding to questions posed by Lifeway Research in January, a slim 19% said that God does determine the winner of the Super Bowl, though 65% somewhat or strongly disagreed with that statement. Similarly, 13% said God cares who wins the Super Bowl, compared to the 68% who said He doesn’t.
Lifeway Research broke the 1,200 responses down into demographics, including gender, age, ethnicity, region, education level, religion, religious service attendance, and evangelical beliefs. Key findings included the fact that men were more likely than women to say that God determines the outcome of the Super Bowl (23% vs. 16%), as well as to say that God cares who wins (16% vs. 10%).
The poll also discovered that younger demographics were more likely to believe in God’s involvement in the game, with 35% of those aged 18-34 stating they think He determines the outcome, and 21% of the same age group saying they think He cares who wins.
Catholics were the most opinionated religious demographic, with a large majority disagreeing with both statements. Seventy-one percent of Catholics said God does not determine the winner, and 8 in 10 Catholics said God does not care who wins at all.
Regular churchgoers tended to agree that God was involved in the Super Bowl in some way. Lifeway Research Executive Director Scott McConnell stated in a news release that this could be explained by the fact that such people are “regularly reminded of God’s care” and are therefore “a little more likely to say He cares about the big game.”
McConnell added, “Many theologians would point to the fact that God does not look at outward appearances, which may include a win or a trophy, but instead cares about our hearts. But many Christian players thank God after a win, showing belief He had something to do with it.”
