WASHINGTON -- Better than eight of 10 Americans believe that God performs miracles, and almost half believe they have experienced or witnessed one, a Newsweek magazine poll has found.
The poll, released Saturday, reported that 84 percent of Americans have faith in divine miracles, and 79 percent believe in the reality of miracles described in the Bible. Also, 48 percent have personal experiences with miracles, and 63 percent said they know of people who have.Kenneth L. Woodward, author of recently released "The Book of Miracles," writes in the magazine's edition on newsstands Monday: "Miracle stories, ancient and modern, do two things: They explain the ways of God to the faithful, and they are the means by which believers experience the presence of God."
Overwhelmingly, the poll showed, those who believe in miracles are Christians, 90 percent of whom are believers. Almost all Evangelical Protestants -- 98 percent -- are believers.
Sixty-seven percent of respondents said they have prayed to God or a saint for miracle, mainly for a cure or recovery for a loved one in a health crisis.
For the poll, Princeton Survey Research Associates interviewed 752 adults by telephone on April 14. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.