A new Gallup survey found that 65% of U.S. adults now say America would be better off if more people were religious, down from 75% in 2013, with the steepest declines among women, younger adults, Democrats and independents.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Americans are less likely than they were 13 years ago to say the country would benefit if more people were religious, with women and younger adults accounting for much of the decline, according to a new Gallup poll.
The survey, released Tuesday, found that 65% of U.S. adults believe America would be better off if more people were religious. That figure is down from 75% in 2013, according to Gallup.
Americans Still Say More Religiosity Would Benefit U.S by yourNEWS Media
The 10-point national decline was driven largely by sharper drops among women and Americans under age 54.
Women’s views shifted more dramatically than men’s over the period measured. In 2013, 77% of women said increased religiosity would have a positive effect on the country, compared with 73% of men. By 2026, that pattern had reversed. The share of women holding that view fell to 61%, while the share of men fell only slightly to 70%.
That represents a 16-point decline among women and a 3-point decline among men.
Younger adults also showed a large decrease in belief that more religion would benefit the United States. Among Americans ages 18 to 34, the share saying increased religiosity would have a positive effect fell from 65% in 2013 to 49% in 2026.
The decline was also substantial among adults ages 35 to 54. In that group, support for the idea dropped from 80% in 2013 to 66% in 2026.
Partisan differences were also evident in the survey. Republicans became slightly more likely to say increased religiosity would benefit the country, rising from 91% in 2013 to 94% in 2026.
Democrats and independents moved in the opposite direction. Among Democrats, the share saying more religious people would have a positive effect on America fell from 67% to 51%. Among independents, it declined from 71% to 59%.
Religious affiliation also showed differing trends. Catholics were an exception to the broader decline. The share of Catholics saying more religiosity would benefit the country increased from 80% in 2013 to 85% in 2026.
Among Protestant and nondenominational Christians, the figure declined from 88% to 81% over the same period.
The poll suggests that views of religion’s role in American life have shifted unevenly across demographic, political and religious groups. While a majority of Americans still say the country would be better off if more people were religious, that majority has narrowed, especially among women, younger adults, Democrats and independents.
ReconMR conducted the Gallup poll from May 1 to May 17 using phone interviews with a random sample of 1,001 adults across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
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