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US poll shows only white evangelicals prioritize marriage and procreation for better society

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A new poll by the Pew Research Center has found that, contrary to the majority of the US population, white evangelicals believe society is better off when marriage and having children are prioritized, Christian Headlines (CH) reports.

The Pew survey found that 56 percent of white evangelicals believe marriage and procreation should be prioritized for a better society, while 41 percent said other priorities were important too, CH reports. White evangelicals were the only Christian sub-group found to have such a majority view on the issue of prioritizing marriage and having children, CH reports.

Among Catholics, 35 percent said marriage and children should be prioritized, 36 percent of black Protestants said so, and 35 percent of white non-evangelical Protestants said so.

In regard to the general population, the study showed that only 34 percent of Americans believe it is better for society when “people make marriage and having children a priority,” CH reports. According to the survey, 64 percent of Americans believe society is “just as well off if people have priorities other than marriage and children.”

The study showed that 16 percent of religiously unaffiliated Americans believe society is better off with people prioritizing marriage and having children, while 82 percent believe society is just as well off with other priorities, CH reports.

Commenting on the results, Stephanie Kramer of Pew wrote: “These patterns extend to measures of religious observance, too,” For example, highly religious people – those who say religion is very important in their lives and those who attend religious services regularly – are more likely than Americans who say religion is less important or attend religious services less frequently to say that society is better off if people prioritize marriage and procreation.”