found that 42 percent of U.S. adults are not “absolutely certain” there is a God compared to 34 percent who felt that way when asked the same question three years ago.The headline made me wonder about the rates of churchgoing and polls about belief in the USA. However, the finer detail shows how the two kinds of figures can fit together. The difficulty lies in that "Absolute certain": some of us with tender consciences and a degree of tolerance of ambiguity have difficulty saying anything 'absolutely' [my wife gets so cross with my fence sitting sometimes; I suspect she thinks my bottom crease is environmental and not genetically anatomical]. So while I would have difficulty saying that I absolutely believe in God, I would also say that about a number of things that other people might be perfectly comfortable with; the earth goes round the sun; the existence of Australia; whether my nearest and dearest love me ... God is a practical hypothesis that I live my life on the basis of and continue to do so because it seems to me that it continues to bear fruit and make sense in much the same sort of way as believing that I am loved, that Australia exists and that the earth goes round the sun. I don't really doubt God, but there's a little bit of me that still says; "... but I could be wrong."
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