WASHINGTON — The question of what role religion should play in public life is becoming more of a dividing line for Americans.
A new poll published Monday shows a huge leap in the percentage of Americans who say religion is losing its influence on public life — from 52 percent in 2002 to 72 percent today — but it also shows an even split on whether that should change.
Forty-nine percent of Americans say churches and other houses of worship “should express their views on day-to-day social and political questions,” while 48 percent say churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters.
During the 2010 midterm-election season, those who wanted churches to stay out of politics outnumbered those who wanted churches to express political views by a ratio of 52 percent to 43 percent, according to the survey, released Monday by the Pew Research Center.
The rise in a desire for clergy to weigh in comes almost completely from Republicans and people who lean Republican. Fifty-nine percent say they want this, up 11 percentage points from 2010. The percentage of Democrats who want this — 42 — is virtually unchanged. The Washington Post
