A new poll shows that more than three in four Americans believe religious freedom is important to a “healthy American society.” The numbers come from a survey by Rasmussen and Summit Institute.
According to The Christian Post, in a survey of one thousand likely voters, 67 percent said that religious freedom was “very important” to a healthy American society, while 15 percent said it was “somewhat important.” Only 9 percent said it was “not very important” or “not important at all.” Nine percent of respondents also said they were not sure.
Religious freedom still enjoys bipartisan support. Eighty-six percent of Republicans said religious freedom was important, and 79 percent of Democrats said it was as well. Only 5 percent of Republicans and 13 percent of Democrats said religious freedom was not an essential part of a healthy American society.
“The American people overwhelmingly support the continued protection of the Constitutional right of freedom of religion and oppose policies requiring churches and faith-based charities and organizations to compromise their deeply-held religious beliefs,” said Jeff Myers, President of Summit Ministries. “Yet, leaders in Washington, D.C. are aggressively pushing forward on legislative measures such as the mislabeled Equality Act, which specifically strips away religious freedom protections.”
Support decreased but remained strong when the survey asked respondents about a particular religious freedom issue. Twenty percent of those questioned said “churches and faith-based charities” should “be required by law to fire people who oppose their religious beliefs.” Half of the respondents believe churches and faith-based charities should not have to fire people who do not share their religious beliefs. Almost one-third said they were not sure.
The partisan divide widened on the question of hiring. Sixty percent of Republicans said churches should not have to hire people opposing their beliefs, while only 37 percent of Democrats agreed. Fourteen percent of Republicans believed churches and faith-based nonprofits should be forced to make the hire, and 28 percent of Democrats agreed.
Rasmussen and Summit Ministries conducted the poll of 1,000 voters on June 16-17, 2021.
Photo courtesy: ©Unsplash/Wang Xi
Scott Slayton writes at “One Degree to Another.”
