America welcomes Christians, Jews; atheists, Muslims not so much
(RNS) Americans are all for religious freedom — but disagree on who can claim it.
Diverse religious groups are recognized — but Christians and Jews are significantly more welcome than atheists, and many don’t see a welcome mat for Muslims. And not everyone means the same thing when speaking of a “Christian” nation.
So finds a new look at Americans’ religious self-image, detailed in a LifeWay Research survey released Wednesday (July 29).
The survey finds overwhelming agreement on the meaning of religious freedom. More than 9 in 10 say Americans are free to choose their religious beliefs, to practice their faith in daily life, to build a house of worship and to tell others about their beliefs.
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But there is a big gap in views on whether business owners should be free to “run a business in accordance with their beliefs.”
While 78 percent overall said this is an “American right,” that fell to 62 percent among those who don’t identify with any particular religious group.
The LifeWay survey of 1,000 U.S. adults was conducted in September 2014, after the Supreme Court ruled that the evangelical owners of the Hobby Lobby craft store chain did not have to offer insurance coverage for contraception. While the high court did not legalize same-sex marriage nationwide until June, when the survey was being conducted there were already nationally publicized state court cases involving wedding vendors refusing service to same-sex couples.
And people hear the same question in different ways, said Scott McConnell, vice president of LifeWay Research, an evangelical research firm based in Nashville.
“When we ask people about what America thinks, what America is like, their answers are influenced by what is flashing in their minds. The news. The people they know. What they’ve seen themselves or what their friends experienced,” he said.
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