With the discovery of water on Mars, many are wondering what this means for the potential for life on other planets. A recent survey shows that a majority of Americans already believe in the existence of intelligent extra-terrestrial life.
In a survey conducted between Sept 14-16, YouGov told 1000 American adults, “Extra-terrestrial intelligent life are living creatures who have the ability to communicate and do not come from Earth. Instead they come from outer space, somewhere in the universe.”
The survey then asked, “Taking everything into account, do you believe that there is extra-terrestrial intelligent life or not?”
In response, 54 percent stated yes, they believe in extra-terrestrial intelligent life, while 24 percent replied they do not believe in intelligent extra-terrestrial life. 22 percent responded they don’t know.
The breakdown shows more males (62 percent) believe in intelligent aliens than females (46 percent).
Democrats are also more likely (64 percent) to believe in intelligent extra-terrestrial life than Independents (50 percent) or Republicans (46 percent).
These results are similar to the findings in Germany and Britain. Majorities in both of these countries also believe in intelligent extra-terrestrial life (56 percent in Germany and 52 percent in Britain).
As for the reason why there has been no contact with intelligent alien life yet, the most popular answers are: “Human technology is not advanced enough for us to communicate with extra-terrestrial intelligent life” (42 percent), “Extra-terrestrial intelligent life is too far away to contact us” (35 percent), and “Extra-terrestrial intelligent life has already contacted us but the government has covered it up” (30 percent).
For those who don’t believe in the existence of intelligent aliens, 65 percent cited the belief that “humans were created by God or another higher being” and 31 percent responded that “the Earth is unique—it is the only place capable of sustaining life.”