MOST AMERICANS THINK RELIGION'S INFLUENCE IS DECLINING AND IT'S NOT A GOOD THING

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Most Americans think religion's influence is declining and it's not a good thing, poll says

8 out of 10 Americans believe religion's influence in U.S. life is declining, according to a new poll

By Kristine Parks Fox News

Published March 24, 2024 8:00am EDT

 

Most Americans believe religion's role in society is declining, and they aren't happy about it, a new poll finds.

 

About 80 percent of U.S. adults think religion is losing its influence on American life, The Pew Research Center's recent survey discovered. This is the highest percent of Americans to report this view than ever before in Pew's research.

 

Most of the people who agreed religion's influence was declining were not pleased about this trend.

 

"Overall, 49% of U.S. adults say both that religion is losing influence and that this is a bad thing. An additional 8% of U.S. adults think religion’s influence is growing and that this is a good thing," Pew said about the survey's findings. "Together, a combined 57% of U.S adults – a clear majority – express a positive view of religion’s influence on American life."

 

Americans also had sharp differences in how they perceived religion conflicting with the culture.

 

Religious Americans increasingly feel their beliefs conflict with American culture. The poll found 48% of all U.S. adults believe there’s "a great deal" of or "some" conflict between their religious beliefs and mainstream American culture, up from 42% in 2020.

 

However, 72% of nonreligious Americans say conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to control religion in the government and public schools. As many as 63% of Christians felt the same about secular liberals.

 

The poll's findings follow a pattern of reports seeming to show Americans are turning away from organized religion while still seeking spiritual meaning in their lives.

 

A January 2024 survey found four in ten U.S. adults said they have become more spiritual in their lifetimes. By contrast, only about one in four Americans said they became more religious.

 

The trend mirrors a sharp decline in Americans who identify as Christians.

 

According to a 2022 Pew report, as many as 90% of U.S. adults and children identified as Christian in the early 1990s. That share fell to just 64% of Americans who said the same in 2020.

 

Pew predicted that if this trend continued and accelerated with Christians under 30 in the U.S., Christianity could become a minority religion by 2045.

 

The March 2024 survey also revealed how Americans feel about the two leading presidential candidates' faith.

 

The survey found 13% of Americans believe President Biden is very religious, while just 4% say the same about former President Trump.

 

At the same time, the majority of Trump supporters in the poll said Trump stands up "a great deal" or "quite a bit" for religious beliefs similar to their own.