Study: Most professors not atheist, agnostic

BOSTON (AP) -- Contrary to stereotype, most college professors are not atheists or agnostics, according to new research.
In fact, only about one-quarter of professors deny God exists or claim it is impossible to know, according to survey results analyzed by sociologists Neil Gross of Harvard University and Solon Simmons of George Mason University. The rest say they believe in God at least part of the time, or at least in some kind of higher power.
College professors are less religious than the general population, the authors report. For example, about 40 percent of professors frequently attend religious services, compared with 47 percent for the general population. But the authors say religious commitment levels are higher than indicated by previous surveys, which did not include professors at community colleges.
Community college professors are more religious than those at elite, doctoral universities. But even at the elite universities, a majority of professors are neither atheistic nor agnostic, and 20 percent say they have no doubt God exists.