Americans Agree Religion Is Under Punishing Assault

Most Americans who value their faith agree with Attorney General William Barr’s strongly worded speech last week declaring that religion is under heavy cultural attack.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 71% of American Adults regard their religious faith as important in their daily lives, with 44% who describe it as Very Important. This is consistent with findings in surveys for the past several years. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Among Americans who say their religious faith is Very Important, 61% agree with Barr that “secular forces and their allies have marshaled all the forces of mass communication, popular culture, the entertainment industry and academia in an unremitting assault on religion and traditional values.”

Sixty-seven percent (67%) of these adults also agree with Barr’s statement at Notre Dame University that “the problem is not that religion is being forced on others. The problem is that … secular values are being forced on people of faith.”

Among all Americans, 47% agree there is “an unremitting assault on religion and traditional values.” Thirty-three percent (33%) disagree. Fifty percent (50%) see the problem as secular values being forced on people of faith. Thirty-one percent (31%) disagree. Roughly 20% are undecided on both questions.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 American Adults was conducted on October 15-16, 2019 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Americans have long viewed Christmas as the nation’s most important holiday, and 67% say it’s more about Jesus Christ than Santa Claus.

Women value their religious faith more than men do. The older the adult, the more likely they are to describe their faith as Very Important to their daily lives.

Blacks have much stronger religious faith than whites and other minority Americans.

Republicans feel much more strongly than Democrats and those not affiliated with either major party that religion and traditional values are under heavy assault. Married Americans share this view more than unmarrieds do.

Fifty percent (50%) of all Americans think America would be a better place if most people attended religious services on a regular basis.

Sixty-three percent (63%) said in a survey two years ago that the politics of Hollywood is liberal. Sixty-two percent (62%) of these voters said movies and the film industry have a negative impact on society.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it's free) or follow us on Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.