Survey Says Majority Wants Churches Out Of Politics

Last week (Aug. 21), the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a new report titled More Americans Question Religion’s Role in Politics. It reports on the results of a survey conducted in early August. Here are some excerpts from the report's Overview:

A new survey finds a narrow majority of the public saying that 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. For a decade, majorities of Americans had voiced support for religious institutions speaking out on such issues.... [M]ost of the reconsideration of the desirability of religious involvement in politics has occurred among conservatives. Four years ago, just 30% of conservatives believed that churches and other houses of worship should stay out of politics. Today, 50% of conservatives express this view.