Ontarians' Belief in Miracles & Angels

Almost two thirds (63%) of Ontarians believe in miracles or divine intervention. In fact, two fifths (42%) of believers say they, themselves, have experienced a miracle or divine intervention. When it comes to angels, more than half (54%) of the Ontario population are believers.

These findings emerged from an Angus Reid Group/Global Television Poll conducted among a representative cross-section of 1,003 adult residents of Ontario between December 9th and 15th, 1996.

Below are the highlights of the poll:

• Almost two thirds (63%) of Ontarians believe in miracles or divine intervention. Women are more likely than men to believe (72% versus 53%). Belief decreases with increased age (67% of those 18 to 34, compared to 58% of those over 55) and income (66% of those earning less than $30K, versus 59% of those with an income of more than $60K). It is interesting to note that belief is greater among Ontarians with some post secondary education (69%) than it is amongst those with either less than a high school diploma (63%) or university graduates (58%).
• Two fifths (42%) of believers say they, themselves, have experienced a miracle or divine intervention. Again, women (45%) are more likely than men (38%) to have experienced a miracle or divine intervention.
• When asked to give a brief description of their miracle or divine intervention, one fifth (19%) described a situation involving response to prayer, a vision, or a feeling of being guided by something or someone. One respondent told of "ashes suddenly appearing on the wall under the picture of the sacred heart".
• Almost as many respondents (18%) shared stories of themselves, or someone they love, recovering from a life-threatening illness or a crippling injury. Many of these miracles involved extremely unhealthy babies who went on to live long and healthy lives.
• It seems that many consider their loved ones miracles in themselves. Children, or giving birth ranked high with mentions from more than one in ten (12%). Meeting "Mr. or Mrs. Right" and marriage was also mentioned by a few respondents (2%).
• Many (12%) respondents told of stories where an accident had been nearly missed, or those involved had unexpectedly survived. One respondent told of "travelling across Canada and stopping on the side of the highway to take pictures. We missed a fatal accident on the highway by three minutes"
• Other miracle mentions include near death experiences (6%), life in general (6%), work (2%), charity or the kindness of a stranger (2%), and money (2%).
• Mentionable miracles (actual respondent quotes):
  • "My aunt was on a life support system and the doctors told my family that she was dead and they were going to turn off the life support system. They forgot to turn if off and the next morning they found her alive -- breathing and talking."
  • "I went to someone's house and I got a good deal on a power tool that I wanted for a long time."
  • "I was talking to somebody telling them I was broke and someone heard me talking about it and they came to my door and took me shopping for groceries.

• When it comes to angels, more than half (54%) of Ontario residents are believers. Women are more likely than men to believe (63% versus 45%). Belief decreases with increased age (58% of those 18 to 34, compared to 48% of those over 55) and income (62% of those earning less than $30K, versus 47% of those with an income of more than $60K). Belief is greater among Ontarians with some post secondary education (63%) than it is amongst those with either less than a high school diploma (53%) or university graduates (46%).

This Angus Reid Group/Global Television Poll was conducted by telephone between December 9th and 15th, 1996 among a representative cross-section of 1,003 adult residents of Ontario.

The data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's age and gender composition reflects that of the actual Ontario population.

With a sample of 1,003 one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results are within ±3.1 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult Ontario population been polled.

For more information of this release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Angus Reid Group
(416) 324-2900