More Americans Question Religion's Role in Politics :
Views of conservatives now more in line with those of moderates and liberals on this issue

Washington, D.C.— Churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters and not express their views on day-to-day social and political matters, according to a new national survey.

The survey of 2,905 adults was conducted from July 31-Aug. 10 by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Findings reveal that some Americans are having a change of heart about mixing religion and politics. Most of the reconsideration has occurred among conservatives. Today 50 percent of conservatives express the view that churches and other houses of worship should stay out of politics, compared to just 30 percent four years ago.

The study also found that previously existing sharp divisions between Republicans and Democrats on the issue have disappeared. Since 2004 the percentage of respondents saying they are uncomfortable when they hear politicians speaking about how religious they are has increased from 40 percent to 46 percent.

While the Republican Party is most often seen as the party friendly toward religion, the Democratic Party has made gains in this area,” the study found. Specifically, nearly four-in-ten or 38 percent now say the Democratic Party is generally friendly toward religion, up from just 26 percent two years ago. At the same time, considerably more people, namely 52 percent, continue to view the GOP as friendly toward religion.

The survey also finds increasing numbers of Americans believing that religiously defined ideological groups have too much control over the parties themselves. Nearly half of the respondents, or 48 percent, say religious conservatives have too much influence over the Republican Party, up from 43 percent in August 2007. At the same time, more people say that liberals who are not religious, (43 percent) have too much sway over the Democrats than did so last year (37 percent). Other findings and the complete survey are available at http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=334

Meanwhile, a recent survey conducted by Wilson Research Strategies found that more than half of the Christians in America believe religious freedom should be a high priority in crafting U.S. foreign policy.

The study shows that 96 percent of respondents believe strongly that religious freedom is a basic human right, and that more than eight in 10 believe it is a very important basic right.
"The findings of this study demonstrate that Senators McCain and Obama must address the issue of religious freedom in their foreign policy positions if they are intent on winning the vote of faithful Christians," said Carl Moeller, president and chief executive officer of Open Doors USA.

"Open Doors commissioned this study to try to understand what Christians in America feel about religious freedom. Clearly, it is a priority,” said Moeller.

Among respondents 54 percent of U.S. Christians polled consider religious freedom an important issue in making U.S. foreign policy, according to the survey commissioned by Open Doors USA, a Christian ministry that has served persecuted Christians around the globe for more than half a century.

“The persecution of Christians in the world today is on the rise, with an estimated 100 million suffering some sort of repression and even death for their faith," Moeller said.*

The study also found that this issue is a high priority for those who attend church most frequently (60 percent) compared with those Christians who never attend (40 percent). Those who feel most strongly about the issue are women who frequently attend church. Ninety-one percent believe it is a very important issue.

The strongest support among Christian groups came from Baptists, Lutherans, nondenominational/independent churches, and charismatics. The weakest group support came from Catholics, Presbyterians and Episcopalians. Of special interest is the finding that 98 percent of frequent listeners to Christian radio believe strongly that religious freedom is a basic human right.

Respondents did not believe that direct intervention should form our religious freedom foreign policy. Instead, they favored the U.S. using more indirect policies, such as economic sanctions (20 percent) and diplomatic measures to pressure persecuting regimes rather than having the U.S. directly intervene. See full study at http://www.opendoorusa.org/.

Wilson Research Strategies was commissioned to conduct a research study of 1,000 Christian adults nationwide. A sample of 1,000 has a margin of error of ±3.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. The study was conducted by telephone May 27-29, 2008. This sampling represents 72 percent of the United States population, which is equal to roughly 150.5 million people who call themselves Christians. Christians in this study were defined as people who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that by believing that He died for their sins they have eternal life. All respondents were contacted via Random Digit Dialing methodology. The sample was stratified by key demographics, including age, gender and area in order to representatively measure the United States' Christian population at large.

*An estimated 100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors supports and strengthens believers in the world's most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers. To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535) or go to their website at http://www.OpenDoorsUSA.org