From christianpost.com
A majority of American adults see faith in public life as a positive thing, even though more than half of them think conservative Christians have gone too far in pushing their values in government and school, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center.
An almost equal share, however, believes that secular liberals have gone too far in opposing religion in public life as America gets ready to rededicate the country as “One Nation to God” on Sunday. Millions of believers are expected to watch or participate in a prayer festival on the National Mall, billed Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving.
The finding for the latest Pew Research Center study came from a survey of 3,592 U.S. adults who are part of the center’s American Trends Panel. The survey was conducted April 6-12 and has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 1.9%.
According to the survey, 52% of U.S. adults think “conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to push their religious values in the government and public schools.” Some 48% say “liberals who are not religious have gone too far in trying to keep religious values out of the government and public schools.” Eighteen percent of American adults say both conservative Christians and secular liberals have gone too far in pushing their respective points of view.
And even though the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause strictly prohibits the government from establishing an official religion, the study registered an increase in the share of U.S. adults who say the federal government should declare Christianity as America’s official religion. The study showed an increase from 13% in 2024 to 17% in 2026.
“Republicans are considerably more likely than Democrats to say religion has a positive influence on American life and to support religion having a prominent role in government and lawmaking,” researchers state. Seventy-five percent of Republicans have a positive view of religion’s influence in American life compared to 38% of Democrats.
Support for religion in public life appears to be fueled by a concern that religion is losing influence. Some 61% of adults say religion is losing influence in American life compared with 37% who say it’s gaining influence.
The share of American adults who say religion is gaining influence in public life, however, has grown by 19% since 2024, according to Pew. The share of American adults who believe religion is gaining influence in society is the highest it has ever been since 2002.
While the majority of American adults (55%) see the influence of religion on society as a positive thing, many would rather not see churches and houses of worship involved in politics.
“Although views of religion’s influence lean positive, most Americans are uneasy with the idea of churches getting directly involved with politics,” researchers state.
Some 79% of American adults say churches and other houses of worship should not support candidates in elections.
“Two-thirds say churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters rather than expressing views on day-to-day social and political questions,” researchers add. “The public’s views on these questions have not changed very much in recent years.”