Half of Americans Support Stronger Role for Religion in Society
23 April 2019 | According to a Pew Research Center study released on Monday, about half of Americans are in favor of having religion exert a stronger influence on society in the United States. Only 18 percent oppose such an influence.
An article in AFP News pointed out that despite an official separation of church and state in the country, religion is still quite influential in the United States. The story highlighted the fact that US presidents are traditionally sworn in with a Bible, and bank notes are printed with the words “In God We Trust.”
The American results were contrasted with those of France, Sweden and the Netherlands, which were drastically different: 47 percent, 51 percent and 45 percent, respectively, were against a stronger role for religion in society. The two countries with the lowest proportion of citizens in favor of bolstering the role of religion in society were France (20 percent) and Japan (15 percent.)
On the other end of the spectrum, the countries most in favor of stronger religious influence on society were Indonesia (85 percent), Kenya (74 percent) and Tunisia (69 percent).
The study did not make a distinction between different religions and was conducted with a representative sample of at least 1,000 people per country.
Adventists have traditionally opposed religion’s having any official role in society.