| A growing number of states have recently introduced or passed laws to increase the role of religion in public schools. On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that a new Louisiana law mandating the presence of the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional. Pew Research Center has asked Americans their views on religion in public schools many times. In a February survey, we found that 48% of U.S. adults agreed with the view that “conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to push their religious values in the government and public schools.” In a different question on the same survey, 50% agreed that “liberals who are not religious have gone too far in trying to keep religious values out of” these institutions. In 2021, 30% of U.S. adults said public school teachers should be allowed to lead students in Christian prayers, while 46% said they should not be allowed to lead students in any kind of prayer. An additional 24% said neither of these options reflected their views or had no opinion on the matter. |
