Public Views Split on Teaching Religion in U.S. Schools, Survey Finds

Audio By Carbonatix

A recent YouGov poll shows that U.S. adults are nearly equally divided on the role of religion in public schools.

The survey, conducted August 11-13 among 1,163 American adults, found that 34% say religion doesn’t play enough of a role in public education, 26% say it’s about right, and another 26% say religion plays too much of a role, Baptist Press reported.

Responses also differed by demographic, including 45% of Christians who said religion is more needed in public schools, 56% of those who say religion is very important to them, and 60% of Republicans.

When it comes to teaching religion in public schools, 38% of Americans believe schools should teach about all religions equally, 28% think schools should not teach about any religions, while 12% favor teaching religions but emphasizing Christianity or 9% who just want teaching on only Christianity.

Regarding the Christian population, 11% believe that schools should solely educate about Christianity, 20% teach about other religions but stress Christianity, 34% teach about all religions equally, and 22% don't teach about any religion at all.

The poll also found strong support for religious expression in schools, including 70% who favor religious symbols, 67% accommodating religious holidays, 60% allowing student-led religious clubs, and 55% allowing time for prayer or reflection.

On the other hand, there is less support from school staff and teachers leading students in Christian prayer (43% oppose vs. 38% support), allowing teachers to express their personal religious beliefs to students (29% oppose vs. 56% support), and more than half of Americans to allowing teachers to criticize religion to students (68% oppose vs. 16% support).

When it comes to displaying the Ten Commandments, 50% oppose mandating their display in classrooms, while 30% support it. Even among Christians, only 41% support a requirement to display them. 

A majority of people believe in the moral authority of the Ten Commandments. Seventy-one percent see them as relevant to how people live today, 67% say they attempt to follow them, 61% believe they are a direct expression of God’s will and 54% believe they were given by God to Moses.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/plherrera

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.