Religion               See also: Education | Law/Civil Rights | Science and Nature | Values

Polls listed chronologically. Data are from nationwide surveys of Americans 18 & older.

Gallup Poll. Dec. 11-13, 2009. N=1,025 adults nationwide. MoE ± 4.

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"How important would you say religion is in your own life: very important, fairly important, or not very important?"

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ABC News/Washington Post Poll. March 26-29, 2009. N=1,000 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Do you feel you do or do not have a good basic understanding of the teachings and beliefs of Islam, the Muslim religion?"

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3/26-29/09

9/5-7/06

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"Would you say you have a generally favorable or unfavorable opinion of Islam?"

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3/26-29/09

9/5-7/06

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"Every religion has mainstream beliefs, and also fringe elements or extremists. Thinking of mainstream Islam, do you think mainstream Islam encourages violence against non-Muslims, or is it a peaceful religion?"

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3/26-29/09

9/5-7/06

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"Do you personally know anyone who is a Muslim, or not?"

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3/26-29/09

10/1

Quinnipiac University Poll. July 8-13, 2008. N=1,783 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 2.3.

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"Do you support or oppose giving federal money to faith-based organizations, such as churches or synagogues, to help them run social programs?"

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7/8-13/08

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"Do you think that these faith-based organizations that receive federal money should be able to discriminate in favor of hiring people of their own faith?"

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7/8-13/08

ABC News/Washington Post Poll. April 10-13, 2008. N=1,197 adults nationwide (MoE ± 3), including, with an oversample, 292 Catholics (MoE ± 5.5). Fieldwork by TNS.

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"Do you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of Pope Benedict the 16th?"

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ALL

Catholics

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Asked of Catholics:
"Do you think Pope Benedict should maintain the traditional policies of the Church, or should he change Church policies to reflect the attitudes and lifestyles of Catholics today?" Options rotated

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4/10-13/08

4/05

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Asked of Catholics:
"In general, do you think the Roman Catholic Church is in touch with the views of Catholics in America today, or is it out of touch?"

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4/10-13/08

4/05

10/03

10/95

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Asked of Catholics:
"Currently, Roman Catholic priests cannot get married. Do you favor or oppose that policy?"

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4/10-13/08

10/03

10/95

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Asked of Catholics:
"Currently, women cannot become priests in the Roman Catholic Church. Do you favor or oppose that policy?"

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4/10-13/08

10/03

3/02

10/95

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"Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Catholic Church has handled the issue of sexual abuse of children by priests?"

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ALL

Catholics

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Bill McInturff (R). Dec. 14-17, 2007. N=1,008 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.1.

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"When it comes to the role of religion in the presidential election, would you say that religion is talked about too much, too little, or about the right amount?"

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12/14-17/07

CBS News Poll. June 26-28, 2007. N=750 registered voters nationwide.

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"Do you think it is appropriate for political candidates to talk about their religious beliefs as part of their political campaigns, or do you think this is not appropriate?"

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%

%

%

ALL reg. voters

50

48

2

  Republicans

65

32

3

  Democrats

41

57

2

  Independents

48

51

1

.

5/20-23/04

50

47

3

.

"Do you think it is appropriate for religious leaders to urge people to vote for or against a political candidate, or is that not appropriate?"

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%

%

%

ALL reg. voters

27

70

3

  Republicans

41

58

1

  Democrats

21

77

2

  Independents

22

72

6

.

5/20-23/04

33

63

4

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"Thinking about your vote for president next year, how important is it that a candidate SHARES your religious beliefs? Is it very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not at all important?"

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%

%

%

%

%

ALL reg. voters

15

23

23

38

1

  Republicans

30

28

20

21

1

  Democrats

7

23

27

42

1

  Independents

12

18

21

48

1

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"How important is it for a candidate to have STRONG religious beliefs, regardless of whether those beliefs are the same as yours? Is it very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not at all important?"

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%

%

%

%

%

ALL reg. voters

27

36

16

20

1

  Republicans

43

35

12

7

3

  Democrats

23

35

19

23

0

  Independents

20

36

17

27

0

Gallup Poll. May 10-13, 2007. N=1,003 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3 (total sample).

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God

   5/10-13/07

   5/2-4/04

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Heaven

   5/10-13/07

   5/2-4/04

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Angels

   5/10-13/07

   5/2-4/04

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The Devil

   5/10-13/07

   5/2-4/04

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   5/10-13/07

   5/2-4/04

.

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Gallup Poll. Jan. 15-18, 2007. N=1,018 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Next, I'm going to read some aspects of life in America today. For each one, please say whether you are very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied. How about the influence of organized religion?"

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1/15-18/07

1/10-14/01

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"Would you like to see organized religion have more influence in this nation, less influence, or keep its influence as it is now?"

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1/15-18/07

1/10-14/01

USA Today/Gallup Poll. July 28-30, 2006. N=1,007 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Now thinking specifically about Muslims, do you think each of the following applies or does not apply to Muslims living in the U.S.? How about, they are [see below]?"

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"Committed to their religious beliefs"

   7/28-30/06

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"Loyal to the United States"

   7/28-30/06

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"Respectful of other religions"

   7/28-30/06

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"Too extreme in their religious beliefs"

   7/28-30/06

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"Respectful of women"

   7/28-30/06

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"Sympathetic to the al-Qaeda terrorist organization"

   7/28-30/06

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"If you honestly assessed yourself, would you say that you have at least some feelings of prejudice against Muslims, or not?"

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7/28-30/06

Gallup Poll. May 8-11, 2006. N=1,002 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Which of the following statements comes closest to describing your views about the Bible? The Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word. The Bible is the inspired word of God, but not everything in it should be taken literally. OR, The Bible is an ancient book of fables, legends, history, and moral precepts recorded by man."

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CBS News Poll. April 6-9, 2006. N=899 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Which of the following statements comes closest to your belief about God: you believe in God; you don't believe in God, but you believe in some other universal spirit or higher power; or you don't believe in either?"

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"How important is religion in your daily life? Is it extremely important, very important, somewhat important, or not at all important?"

.

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"Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: The Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word."

.

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"Do you think people who have strong religious beliefs are discriminated against in this country?"

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"In general, do you think that teaching the Bible in a public school does or does not violate the Constitution and the separation of church and state?"

.

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"Do you think public schools should or should not be allowed to teach the Bible as a piece of literature, in classes like English or Social Studies?"

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"Would you like to see religious and spiritual values have more influence in the schools than they do now, less influence, or about the same influence as they do now?"

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"What is your impression of [see below]? As of today, is it very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, very unfavorable, of haven't you heard enough about that to say?"

.

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"Christian fundamentalist religions"

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"The Mormon religion"

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"The Catholic religion"

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"Other Christian religions, such as Protestantism"

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"The Jewish religion"

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"Scientology"

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"Generally speaking, do you think the Islamic religion encourages violence more than other religions around the world, about the same amount, or less than other religions around the world?"

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ABC News/Washington Post Poll. March 2-5, 2006. N=1,000 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"Every religion has mainstream beliefs, and also fringe elements or extremists. Thinking of mainstream Islam, do you think mainstream Islam teaches respect for the beliefs of non-Muslims, or not?"

.

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"Do you think mainstream Islam encourages violence against non-Muslims, or is it a peaceful religion?"

.

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"Compared to other religions, do you think there are more violent extremists within Islam, fewer, or about the same number as in other religions?"

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CBS News Poll. Feb. 22-26, 2006. N=1,018 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"As you may know, a Danish newspaper published some cartoons depicting Muhammad, which offended Muslims around the world and led to violent protests by Muslims in many countries. Based on what you've seen or read, do you think the reaction by Muslims was justified, or not justified, or don't you know enough about it to say?"

.

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"Based on what you've seen or read, do you think the Danish newspaper was justified in publishing the cartoons, or not justified, or don't you know enough about it to say?"

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CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. Feb. 9-12, 2006. N=1,000 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

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"As you may know, several newspapers in Europe recently printed cartoons showing Mohammed, the founder of Islam, in ways that offended the religious views of many Muslims. How closely have you been following the news about this: very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all?"

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2/9-12/06

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"Do you think the European newspapers that printed those cartoons acted responsibly or irresponsibly?"

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2/9-12/06

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2/9-12/06

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"Which comes closer to your view? The U.S. news media have an obligation to show controversial items that are newsworthy even if they may offend the religious views of some people. OR, The U.S. news media have an obligation to avoid offending the religious views of some people even if that prevents them from showing controversial items that are newsworthy." Options rotated

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