Astonishing Quote by Noam Chomsky
“Three quarters of the American population literally believe in religious miracles. The numbers who believe in the devil, in resurrection, in God doing this and that - it's astonishing. These numbers aren't duplicated anywhere else in the industrial world. You'd have to maybe go to mosques in Iran or do a poll among old ladies in Sicily to get numbers like this. Yet this is the American population.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Interview on American religious belief, 1990s
Americans show unusually high belief in supernatural events compared to other industrial societies.
In simple terms: Many Americans believe in miracles more than elsewhere.
Key Takeaway
Recognize cultural influences on belief systems.
Themes
religion
culture
statistics
comparative sociology
Mood
thoughtful
analytical
Type
observational
critical
When to use this quote
- polling
- public discourse
- education
- media analysis
Key Concepts
secularism
faith
social psychology
Questions to Reflect On
- How do cultural narratives shape belief?
- What factors explain US religious uniqueness?
A Different Perspective
Belief data may be outdated or context‑specific.
![“I wrote an article about the marine landing [in Haiti] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two months later and I assumed by then, "of course, everybody knows." Nobody knew. There was a news report in the Wall Street Journal, in the petroleum journals, and…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dc5/noam-chomsky-42_articles_i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-land_13341.jpg)
