Worthy Christian News > Christian > Poll: Majority of Americans believe religious liberty is declining in US

Poll: Majority of Americans believe religious liberty is declining in US

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A new poll by Lifeway Research has found that 54% of Americans believe religious liberty is declining in the US, and 59% believe that tolerance of Christianity specifically is declining, CBN News reports. The poll found that evangelical believers are more likely (74%) to say religious liberty is declining than those who are not evangelical (48%).

The poll was conducted among 1,005 Americans from September 2-14, 2021, and has a sampling error that doesn’t exceed +/- 3.3%, Lifeway Research said in its report.

According to the Lifeway poll, nearly six-out-of-ten Americans believe that US Christians in particular, are “increasingly confronted with intolerance.” Notably, among those polled, the majority of Catholics (59%), Protestants (69%), and people of other religious beliefs (52%) all believe that Christians, in particular, are facing increasing intolerance.

Moreover, 41% of people who are not affiliated with any religion also said Christians are facing increased intolerance. Only 24% of those surveyed actively disagreed with this contention. At the same time, the poll found 36% of US adults believe American Christians “complain too much about how they are treated.”

“Americans who are more engaged with their faith are among those most likely to believe religious liberty is on the decline in America,” Lifeway Research said. “Freedoms are not limitless. As some groups seek more freedom, it often encroaches on another’s freedom. It’s not surprising those who are more religiously active are the ones noticing reductions in religious freedom compared to those who don’t practice religion.”