---
title: "Heaven: Not a Gated Community"
description: "Most Americans who claim a religious affiliation think many religions, not just their own religion, can lead to eternal life."
date: "2009-01-27"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2009/01/27/heaven-not-a-gated-community/"
---

# Heaven: Not a Gated Community

Most Americans who claim a religious affiliation take a non-exclusivist view of salvation, with 65% saying that many religions can lead to eternal life, while less than one-quarter say theirs is the one, true faith leading to eternal life. Among American Christians, a 52%-majority believes that some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life. At the other end of the spectrum, the number of religiously-affiliated Americans saying that only their own faith can lead to eternal life increased slightly between 2007 and 2008, from 24% to 29%. The increase is especially pronounced among white evangelical Protestants (37% to 49%) and black Protestants (35% to 45%). [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/pubs/1062/many-americans-say-other-faiths-can-lead-to-eternal-life)