THE vast majority of U.S. adults say religion’s role in public life has declined — and a very large number of them are not happy about it.
A Pew Research Center report, released on Friday, revealed the stark finding that 80% of U.S. adults agree with the statement that the role of faith in everyday American life is shrinking.
The findings represent the highest number of people who believe this since Pew first asked this question. In 2002, only 52% responded that religion’s influence in the U.S. had waned.
At the same time, nearly half — 49 percent — said religion is losing influence and “that this is a bad thing,” according to the report.
In addition, the report added, another 8% of U.S. adults think “religion’s influence is growing and that this is a good thing.”
In another twist, fewer people had a negative view of religion by saying either that its influence is shrinking is a good thing (13%) or by saying its influence is growing and this is bad (6%).
Overall, Christians (64%) were the largest group who had a positive view of religion’s role on American life. Moreover, Christians told Pew that their religious beliefs made them feel like a minority group — including 38% of Hispanic Protestants, 37% of White evangelicals and 25% each among Catholics and Black Protestants.
Here are a few other highlights from the report:
— 41% of U.S. adults said it’s best to avoid talking about religion if someone disagrees with you — up from 33% in 2019.
— 48% said there’s “a great deal” of or “some” conflict between their religious beliefs and mainstream American culture — up from 42 percent just four years ago.
— 45% said they have heard or read about Christian nationalism, including 25% who also have an unfavorable view of it and 5% who hold a favorable view. These numbers are virtually the same since since 2022.
— 72% of religiously unaffiliated adults accused conservative Christians of having gone too far in pushing religion in government and public schools. In return, 73% of conservative Christians said the same about secular progressives. ReligionUnplugged
