When the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens meet in Super Bowl XLVII Sunday, will God play a role in which team wins?

The Public Religion Research Institute asked that question of Americans and discovered nearly 30 percent said "yes."

"We also found that a majority of Americans, 53 percent of Americans say that God rewards athletes who have faith with good health and success in their careers," the institute's Dr. Robert Jones said.

"And so we've seen a lot of athletes in basketball, baseball, football who are very deliberate about witnessing about their faith either before the game, after the game, during the game through gestures," he continued.

"We also saw that most Americans approve of those expressions of faith on the field," Jones said.

Even people who describe themselves as "religiously unaffiliated" approve of athletes expressing their faith. Just 8 percent disapprove.