80% 美国人表示宗教失去对公共生活影响

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Chart shows the share of Americans who say religion’s influence is declining is as high as it’s ever been

A new Pew Research Center survey finds that 80% of U.S. adults say religion’s role in American life is shrinking – a percentage that’s as high as it’s ever been in our surveys.

Most Americans who say religion’s influence is shrinking are not happy about it. 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.

Together, a combined 57% of U.S adults – a clear majority – express a positive view of religion’s influence on American life.

Chart shows 49% of Americans say religion’s influence is declining and that this is a bad thing

The survey also finds that about half of U.S. adults say it’s “very” or “somewhat” important to them to have a president who has strong religious beliefs, even if those beliefs are different from their own. But relatively few Americans view either of the leading presidential candidates as very religious: 13% of Americans say they think President Joe Biden is very religious, and just 4% say this about former President Donald Trump.

Overall, there are widespread signs of unease with religion’s trajectory in American life. This dissatisfaction is not just among religious Americans. Rather, many religious and nonreligious Americans say they feel that their religious beliefs put them at odds with mainstream culture, with the people around them and with the other side of the political spectrum. For example:

Chart shows a growing share of Americans feel their religious views are at odds with the mainstream

48% of U.S. adults say there’s “a great deal” of or “some” conflict between their religious beliefs and mainstream American culture, up from 42% in 2020.
29% say they think of themselves as religious minorities, up from 24% in 2020.
41% say it’s best to avoid discussing religion at all if someone disagrees with you, up from 33% in 2019.
72% of religiously unaffiliated adults – those who identify, religiously, as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” – say conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to control religion in the government and public schools; 63% of Christians say the same about secular liberals.

These are among the key findings of a new Pew Research Center survey, conducted Feb. 13-25, 2024, among a nationally representative sample of 12,693 U.S. adults.

This report examines:

The survey also finds wide partisan gaps on questions about the proper role for religion in society, with Republicans more likely than Democrats to favor religious influence in governance and public life. For instance:

42% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say that when the Bible and the will of the people conflict, the Bible should have more influence on U.S. laws than the will of the people. Just 16% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say this.
21% of Republicans and GOP leaners say the federal government should declare Christianity the official religion of the United States, compared with 7% of Democrats and Democratic leaners.

Moral and religious qualities in a president

Almost all Americans (94%) say it is “very” or “somewhat” important to have a president who personally lives a moral and ethical life. And a majority (64%) say it’s important to have a president who stands up for people with their religious beliefs.

About half of U.S. adults (48%) say it is important for the president to hold strong religious beliefs. Fewer (37%) say it’s important for the president to have the same religious beliefs as their own.

Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to value religious qualities in a president, and Christians are more likely than the religiously unaffiliated to do so. For example:

Republicans and GOP leaners are twice as likely as Democrats and Democratic leaners to say it is important to have a president who has the same religious beliefs they do (51% vs. 25%).
70% of White evangelical Protestants say it is important to have a president who shares their religious beliefs. Just 11% of religiously unaffiliated Americans say this.

Chart shows Nearly all U.S. adults say it is important to have a president who personally lives a moral, ethical life

Views of Biden, Trump and their religious engagement

Relatively few Americans think of Biden or Trump as “very” religious. Indeed, even most Republicans don’t think Trump is very religious, and even most Democrats don’t think Biden is very religious.

6% of Republicans and GOP leaners say Trump is very religious, while 44% say he is “somewhat” religious. Nearly half (48%) say he is “not too” or “not at all” religious.
23% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say Biden is very religious, while 55% say he is somewhat religious. And 21% say he is not too or not at all religious.

Chart shows Few Americans see Biden, Trump as very religious

Though they don’t think Trump is very religious himself, most Republicans and people in religious groups that tend to favor the Republican Party do think he stands up at least to some extent for people with their religious beliefs. Two-thirds of Republicans and independents who lean toward the GOP (67%) say Trump stands up for people with their religious beliefs “a great deal,” “quite a bit” or “some.” About the same share of White evangelical Protestants (69%) say this about Trump.

Similarly, 60% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, as well as 73% of Jewish Americans and 60% of Black Protestants, say Biden stands up for people with their religious beliefs a great deal, quite a bit or some.

Chart shows About 7 in 10 White evangelical Protestants say Trump stands up for people with their religious beliefs at least to ‘some’ extent

Overall, views of both Trump and Biden are generally unfavorable.

White evangelical Protestants – a largely Republican group – stand out as having particularly favorable views of Trump (67%) and unfavorable views of Biden (86%).
Black Protestants and Jewish Americans – largely Democratic groups – stand out for having favorable views of Biden and unfavorable views of Trump.

Chart shows Views of Biden and Trump are divided along religious and partisan lines

Views on trying to control religious values in the government and schools

Americans are almost equally split on whether conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to push their religious values in the government and public schools, as well as on whether secular liberals have gone too far in trying to keep religious values out of these institutions.

Most religiously unaffiliated Americans (72%) and Democrats (72%) say conservative Christians have gone too far. And most Christians (63%) and Republicans (76%) say secular liberals have gone too far.

Chart shows Many Americans think conservative Christians, secular liberals have gone too far in trying to control religion in government and public schools

Christianity’s place in politics, and Christian nationalism

In recent years, “Christian nationalism” has received a great deal of attention as an ideology that some critics have said could threaten American democracy.

Table shows Americans’ views of Christian nationalism have been stable since 2022

Despite growing news coverage of Christian nationalism – including reports of political leaders who seem to endorse the concept – the new survey shows that there has been no change in the share of Americans who have heard of Christian nationalism over the past year and a half. Similarly, the new survey finds no change in how favorably U.S. adults view Christian nationalism.

Overall, 45% say they have heard or read about Christian nationalism, including 25% who also have an unfavorable view of it and 5% who have a favorable view of it. Meanwhile, 54% of Americans say they haven’t heard of Christian nationalism at all.

One element often associated with Christian nationalism is the idea that church and state should not be separated, despite the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The survey finds that about half of Americans (49%) say the Bible should have “a great deal” of or “some” influence on U.S. laws, while another half (51%) say it should have “not much” or “no influence.” And 28% of U.S. adults say the Bible should have more influence than the will of the people if the two conflict. These numbers have remained virtually unchanged over the past four years.

Chart shows 28% of Americans say the Bible should prevail if Bible and the people’s will conflict

In the new survey, 16% of U.S. adults say the government should stop enforcing the separation of church and state. This is little changed since 2021.

Chart shows Views on church-state separation and the U.S. as a Christian nation

In response to a separate question, 13% of U.S. adults say the federal government should declare Christianity the official religion of the U.S., and 44% say the government should not declare the country a Christian nation but should promote Christian moral values. Meanwhile, 39% say the government should not elevate Christianity in either way.1

Overall, 3% of U.S. adults say the Bible should have more influence on U.S. laws than the will of the people; and that the government should stop enforcing separation of church and state; and that Christianity should be declared the country’s official religion. And 13% of U.S. adults endorse two of these three statements. Roughly one-fifth of the public (22%) expresses one of these three views that are often associated with Christian nationalism. The majority (62%) expresses none.

Guide to this report

The remainder of this report describes these findings in additional detail. Chapter 1 focuses on the public’s perceptions of religion’s role in public life. Chapter 2 examines views of presidential candidates and their religious engagement. And Chapter 3 focuses on Christian nationalism and views of the U.S. as a Christian nation.

1. Religion's role in public life

BY MICHAEL ROTOLO, GREGORY A. SMITH AND JONATHAN EVANS

The vast majority of U.S. adults agree that religion’s influence in public life is shrinking, and most of them see this as a bad thing. Americans generally express a positive view of religion in the new survey. There also is a growing sense that people’s own religious beliefs conflict with the society in which they live, and that religious disagreements are best not talked about.

48% say there is a “great deal” of conflict or “some” conflict between their own religious beliefs and mainstream American culture, up from 42% who said this in 2020.
29% say they think of themselves as part of a minority group because of their religious beliefs, up from 24% in 2020.
41% say that when they disagree with someone about religion, the best thing to do is to avoid discussing religion at all, up from 33% who said this in 2019.

Most Jewish Americans and religiously unaffiliated Americans think conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to impose their religious values on the government and public schools. Most Christians, by contrast, think secular liberals have gone too far in trying to keep religion out of the government and public schools.

All told, the survey results show that many Americans are discontented with religion’s trajectory in American life.

Is religion gaining or losing influence in American life?

Today, 80% of U.S. adults say religion is losing influence in American life. That is up 6 percentage points from 2022, and is as high as it’s been since we started asking questions like this in 2001.

Table shows Most U.S. adults say religion is losing influence in American life

Majorities in every religious group we analyzed agree that religion’s influence in public life is shrinking, as do most Republicans and Democrats, and most across age groups.

Just 18% of U.S. adults say religion is gaining influence.

Is religion’s changing trajectory a good thing or bad thing?

After asking respondents whether they think religion is gaining or losing influence in American life, we posed a follow-up question: Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Roughly half of respondents (49%) say religion is losing influence and that this is bad for society, while 8% say religion is gaining influence and this is good for society. Taken together, this means 57% express a positive view of religion’s impact – a larger share than we found in 2019 and 2022.2

Far fewer express a negative view of religion by saying either that its influence is shrinking and this is good (13%) or by saying its influence is growing and this is bad (6%). About one-in-five adults (21%) say that it doesn’t make much difference whether religion’s influence on American life is growing or shrinking.

Most Christians express a positive view of religion’s impact on American life, saying either that its influence is declining and this is bad (64%) or that its influence is growing and this is good (11%).

Most atheists and agnostics, by contrast, express a negative view of religion’s influence in American society. Jews and people who describe their religion as “nothing in particular” are divided between those who have a positive view of religion, those who have a negative view, and those who say changes in religion’s influence don’t make much of a difference.

Republicans and those who lean toward the Republican Party are far more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to express a positive view of religion by these measures. And older American adults are far more positive toward religion than younger Americans.

Table shows most U.S. adults have a positive view of religion’s role in American life

Do Americans feel at odds with society because of their religion?

Today, 29% of U.S. adults say they think of themselves as part of a minority group because of their religious beliefs. This figure is up modestly since 2020, when 24% said this.

Table shows about 3 in 10 U.S. adults say their religion makes them part of a minority group

Most Jewish Americans (83%) and many Muslim Americans (55%) say they think of themselves as a minority because of their religious beliefs, as do 44% of atheists.

But many Christians also say their religious beliefs make them a minority in the U.S., including 38% of Hispanic Protestants, 37% of White evangelical Protestants, and 25% each among Catholics and Black Protestants.

The new survey also finds that about half of U.S. adults (48%) say there is “a great deal” of or “some” conflict between their own religious beliefs and mainstream American culture, up from 42% who said this when the Center last asked in 2020.

Clear majorities among White evangelicals (71%), Jews (59%) and atheists (59%) hold this view. Smaller but still substantial numbers in other groups sense a conflict between their religious beliefs and the values of the prevailing culture.

Table shows Half of U.S. adults say there is a ‘great deal’ of or ‘some’ conflict between their religious beliefs and mainstream culture

Have some Americans gone too far trying to control religion in the government and schools?

Half of U.S. adults say they think secular liberals have gone too far in trying to keep religion out of the government and public schools. This view is especially common among White evangelical Protestants (83%). But most Catholics – particularly White Catholics – agree, as do 62% of Hispanic Protestants, 58% of White nonevangelical Protestants and 52% of Black Protestants.

Meanwhile, in response to a separate question, roughly half of U.S. adults say they think conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to push their religious values in the government and public schools. Fully 91% of atheists express this view, as do 85% of agnostics and 76% of Jewish Americans.

Three-quarters of Republicans and Republican leaners say liberals who are not religious have gone too far trying to remove religion from government and public schools. A similar share of Democrats and Democratic leaners say conservative Christians have gone too far in the other direction.

Older adults are more apt than younger Americans to say secular liberals have gone too far in trying to keep religion out of the government and schools. Younger adults, by contrast, are far more likely than older Americans to say conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to impose their religion in the government and public schools.

Table shows Americans are divided about whether conservative Christians and secular liberals have gone too far trying to control religion’s role in the government and schools

When these two questions are combined, the data shows that:

17% of U.S. adults think both sides – conservative Christians and secular liberals – have gone too far trying to control religion in the government and public schools.
31% think conservative Christians have gone too far, but secular liberals have not.
33% think secular liberals, but not conservative Christians, have gone too far.
19% don’t think either group has gone too far.

What do conservative Christians and secular liberals think about these questions?

The survey makes it possible to look at how conservative Christians and secular liberals themselves answer these questions. To do this, we combined information from two questions – one that asks respondents about their religious identity, and another that asks about their “political views” – to examine the views of conservative Christians and secular liberals.

Among respondents in this survey, 27% identify religiously as Christian and also describe themselves, politically, as conservative. These are “conservative Christians.”

Meanwhile, 12% of respondents identify as religiously unaffiliated, and also describe their political views as liberal. These are “secular liberals.” (Six-in-ten respondents don’t fall into either category; they are neither conservative Christians nor secular liberals.)

This analysis found that:

73% of conservative Christians say secular liberals have gone too far trying to keep religion out of the government and schools, and don’t say their own side has gone too far in the other direction.
88% of secular liberals say conservative Christians have gone too far trying to impose their religion in the government and schools, and don’t say their own side has gone too far in the other direction.

Among the majority of the public that doesn’t fall into either camp, opinions are much more divided: 32% say conservative Christians (but not secular liberals) have gone too far and 21% say secular liberals (but not conservative Christians) have gone too far. Meanwhile, 22% say both sides have gone too far, and 25% don’t say that either side has gone too far.

Table shows Majorities of conservative Christians and secular liberals say the other side has gone too far trying to control religion in the government and public schools

What should people do when they disagree about religion or politics?

Here’s what U.S. adults say when asked what they think is the best way to proceed when someone disagrees with them about religion:

41% say it’s best to just avoid discussing religion altogether, up from 33% who said this in 2019.
53% say it’s best to try and understand the other person’s perspective and agree to disagree, down from 62% who said this in 2019.
Just 5% say the best approach is to try and persuade the other person to change their mind. This is virtually unchanged since 2019.

There is relatively little appetite for trying to change someone’s mind about religion among any of the religious groups analyzed in the survey, peaking at just 14% among White evangelical Protestants.

The survey finds a similar pattern in opinions about how to proceed in the face of political disagreements. Roughly half say it’s best to try to understand the other person’s political perspective and agree to disagree, and 45% say politics is best avoided in the face of disagreement. Just 5% say the best approach is to try to change the other person’s political view.

Table shows Little appetite among the U.S. public for trying to change people’s minds about religion or politics

How friendly to religion are Democrats, Republicans, the Biden administration and the Supreme Court?

About half of U.S. adults say they think the GOP is “friendly” toward religion. This is 7 points lower than when we last asked this question in 2022, but higher than the share who say the Democratic Party is friendly toward religion.

The GOP is seen as friendly toward religion by 60% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, and by large numbers within Republican-majority religious groups, including 61% of White evangelical Protestants and 55% of White Catholics.

The GOP is also seen as friendly toward religion by many Democrats and Democratic leaners (47%), and by large numbers of people within some largely Democratic religious groups, including 80% of atheists, 68% of agnostics and 55% of Jews.

This feeling is decidedly not mutual. Most Republicans and Republican leaners say they think the Democratic Party is “unfriendly” toward religion. For their part, 53% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say the Democratic Party is “neutral” toward religion, while 37% say it is friendly toward religion and just 8% say it is unfriendly.

Table shows Americans more likely to see GOP than Democratic Party as friendly to religion

Views about the Biden administration’s approach to religion resemble views about the Democratic Party. Democrats and Democratic leaners mostly say the Biden administration is neutral or friendly toward religion, while Republicans and Republican leaners mostly say the Biden administration is unfriendly to religion.

Table shows 27% of Americans see Biden administration as friendly to religion

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in June 2022 that overturned Roe v. Wade and ended federal protections for abortion, the share of Americans saying they viewed the Court as friendly to religion increased sharply – from 18% in spring 2019 to 35% in September 2022. In the new survey, the share saying the court is friendly to religion ticked down to 28%.

Table shows Most U.S. adults say the Supreme Court is neutral toward religion

Most Republicans and Republican leaners say the Supreme Court is neutral toward religion. Democrats and Democratic leaners, by contrast, are more evenly split between those who say it is neutral and those who think the court is friendly toward religion.

Relatively few people in either party think the Supreme Court is unfriendly to religion.

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