(NewsNation) — More people than ever believe that religion’s role in American life is shrinking, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center.
And nearly half of those asked believe there is conflict between their religious beliefs and mainstream American culture.
The survey also discovered big gaps on the question of religion’s proper role in society. And Republicans are more likely than Democrats to favor religion’s influence on government.
Here are some of the findings:
Religion’s influence
- 49%: Religion’s influence is declining, and that’s a bad thing
- 13%: Religion’s influence is declining, and that’s a good thing
- 8%: Religion’s influence is growing, and that’s a good thing
Religion and conflict
- 49%: There’s some or a great deal of conflict between their religious believes and mainstream American culture
- 29%: Label themselves as religious minorities
Religious control
- 63%: Christians who believe secular liberals have gone too far in trying to control religion in government & schools
- 72%: Atheists & agnostics who believe conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to control religion in government & schools
The candidates and religion
- 13%: Believe President Joe Biden is very religious
- 4%: Believe former President Donald Trump is very religious
Religion and the Constitution
- 16%: Say the government should stop enforcing the separation of church and state
- 13%: Say the government should declare Christianity the official religion of the U.S.
- 44%: Say the government should not do that
The numbers come from a Pew Research Center survey conducted in February. It contacted 12,693 U.S. adults.