How Americans Feel About Religion’s Influence in Government and Public Life

U.S. Views on Christian Nationalism Becoming More Solidified, Pew Study Finds

The share of U.S. adults who believe religion is gaining influence in American life has more than doubled in the past two years, according to a recent Pew Research Center study. The survey found that 37% of respondents believed religion’s influence is on the rise, up from 18% in 2024. A little more than half (52%) see these developments as positive, with around a quarter each saying they are negative (23%) or that they have a neutral opinion on …

Americans still favor state/church separation despite Christian nationalist push

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is pleased to report that a new Pew Research Center survey offers an encouraging reminder. Despite the growing noise of Christian nationalism in American politics, most Americans still reject the idea of churches controlling government or politicians using religion to wield power. The findings arrive amid increasingly aggressive efforts by religious nationalists to blur the line between church and state, incl…

More Americans aware of ‘Christian nationalism,’ but negative view of it prevails

(OSV News) — A new study from the Pew Research Center shows more Americans are acquainted with the term “Christian nationalism,” but on balance, more of them are likely to hold a negative rather than positive view of it. Pew announced that finding among others in a May 14 report on “How Americans Feel About Religion’s Influence in Government and Public Life,” published on the center’s website. Along with its two questions on Christian nationalis…

We traded church for wellness. Now, we’re paying for it.

(RNS) — A new Pew Research Center survey finds that 37% of Americans now say religion is gaining influence in public life, the highest percentage since 2002, up 19 points in just two years. And no group is more alarmed than the spiritual-but-not-religious. Among the religiously unaffiliated, 46% view religion’s growing influence negatively, the survey found. That’s more than double the rate of the general public. Here’s the thing, though. I thin…

US adults likeliest since 2002 to say religion gaining influence in America, Pew study suggests

The 37% of U.S. adults who say that religion is gaining influence in the country represents the highest percentage that the Pew Research Center has tracked since 2002, it said in its new survey of how Americans feel about the influence of religion in government and public life.Pew surveyed more than 3,500 American adults in April and found that 61% think that religion is declining in influence in the United States, well above the 52% in 2002.The…

U.S. adults likeliest since 2002 to say religion gaining influence in America, Pew study suggests

Still, 61% of respondents to an April poll from the Pew Research Center said that religion was declining in influence in the country, compared to 37% that said it was gaining ground.