Would More Religion Make America A Better Place?

Sunday, February 08, 2015

Most Americans say their religious faith is important in their daily lives and think the nation would be better off if they practiced that faith more often.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 53% of American Adults think America would be a better place if most people attended religious services on a regular basis. Just seven percent (7%) think the country would be worse off, while 30% believe more religious attendance would have no impact on society. Ten percent (10%) are not sure.
But 33% believe the government today discriminates against people of religious faith. A plurality (44%) disagrees. Twenty-three percent (23%) are undecided.
Forty-one percent (41%) of Americans also think the Supreme Court is too hostile toward religion, and half believe rulings by judges in recent years have been more anti-religious than the Founding Fathers intended.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) say it’s not possible to have a health community without churches.

The national survey of 800 Adults was conducted on January 26-27, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC.
Eighty percent (80%) of voters view the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion as Very Important, but 54% see the government as a threat rather than a protector of their rights.
The more important their religion in their daily lives, the more likely Americans are to agree that regular religious services would make the country better. The more often Americans attend their respective houses of worship, the more likely they are to agree.
Older Americans generally think more religion would be better for the country compared to those who are younger.
Blacks believe more strongly than whites and other minority adults that the country would benefit from more religious attendance
Adults who say religion is Very Important in their daily life are much more likely than those who say it is less important to think the government discriminates against religious people. Evangelical Christians are the most likely to believe this, while Americans of other faiths generally disagree.
Fifty-two percent (52%) of all Americans say there’s not enough religion in the schools, compared to 11% who say there’s too much.
Seventy-six percent (76%) believe Christmas should be celebrated in public schools, and 72% say religious symbols such as Christmas nativity scenes, Hanukkah menorahs and Muslim crescents should be allowed on public land.
Americans support women in the pulpit and in senior leadership positions within the church. But they are more hesitant when it comes to supporting openly gay and lesbian religious leaders.
Seventy-seven percent (77%) of Likely U.S. Voters believe the government should not be allowed to prosecute religious leaders for comments that criticize government and social policies that violate the basic beliefs of their religion.

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The national survey of 800 Adults was conducted on January 26-27, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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