The Freedom From Religion Foundation is pleased that a new survey shows majorities or pluralities of the public still favor keeping most aspects of religion out of public schools.

Laudably, nearly two-thirds of Americans (64 percent) polled by Associated Press-NORC believe that the separation of church and state is extremely or very important, even if other First Amendment protections rate higher in comparison.

Among the findings showing support for secular schools and policies:

• 60 percent oppose a mandatory period during school for private prayer and religious reading  — which remains the legal status quo.
• 55 percent believe teachers should not be allowed to lead a class in prayer, which also has been deemed unconstitutional in several vaunted high court cases since the 1960s.
• 43 percent — a plurality — oppose allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools, the subject of a recent Supreme Court decision, in which the tie vote kept in place a state court decision ruling it unconstitutional. Only 23 percent favor such a scheme.
• 45 percent, another plurality, oppose religious exemptions for childhood vaccines otherwise required to attend public schools. Only a quarter of Americans support these religious exemptions.
• 38 percent, yet another plurality, oppose tax-funded vouchers for support of private, largely religious schools. A third overall support vouchers, which state legislatures unfortunately have increasingly adopted across the nation.

The most disturbing showing for support for some religion in schools was response to a question about whether to allow religious chaplains to provide support services in public schools: 58 percent support them. The question, however, did not explicitly indicate that chaplains were providing religious support. (Read more about the dangers of this new legislative campaign in this statement by FFRF Action Fund).

Other findings showing some nuanced support for religion in schools include:

• A  narrow majority, 51 percent, believes public schools should provide parents with a list of books made available to students, a pet project of groups like the misnomered Moms for Liberty, which leads book banning campaigns.
• 57 percent weighed in that there is too much federal government influence on public schools, a MAGA talking point.
• A plurality of 38 percent thinks religion has too little influence on what children are taught in schools, compared to 32 percent who think there’s too much.
• Roughly half of the public, even those with no religious affiliation, thinks major religious groups have the right level of influence on American public schools, a finding that is open to interpretation considering that current precedent forbids religious indoctrination in public schools.

Notably and not surprisingly, those with no religious affiliation show the strongest support for keeping religion out of public schools.

For instance, 59 percent of “Nones” oppose chaplains in schools, the only group in which a majority did so. In question after question, those with no religious affiliation were far more concerned about religion in schools, with 84 percent opposing a teacher leading a class in prayer, 76 percent opposing a mandatory period for private prayer, 52 percent opposing vouchers, 60 percent opposing vaccine exemptions for the religious and 61 percent opposing religious public charter schools. Even so, a plurality of Nones had no opinion about requiring public schools to provide parents with book lists, which may indicate general lack of familiarity with the issue.

“White evangelical Christians, nonwhite Protestants, and Catholics are all more likely than those who are not affiliated with a religion to approve of religious chaplains providing support services, teachers leading prayer in class, and mandatory periods for private prayer and religious reading at public schools,” reports Associated Press.

A plurality of Americans overall, 41 percent, says that religion has too much influence on Donald Trump. Another plurality, 37 percent, says that religion has too much influence on the U.S. Supreme Court. In this set of questions, “Nones” also distinguished themselves, with a majority indicating that that religion has too much influence on both.

Most people polled were not concerned that the religious freedom of atheists or Christians is under threat. Those without a religious affiliation were more likely than white evangelical Christians to be at least somewhat concerned about the religious freedom of atheists (45 percent versus 27 percent).

Although the survey did not ask about Ten Commandments postings in public schools, which is one of the current major attacks on secular education, it can be deduced from the findings above that a majority of Americans seemingly would disapprove. FFRF is party to two lawsuits against Ten Commandments postings in public schools in Louisiana and Arkansas, and is preparing with a coalition to file a challenge against Texas’ new law requiring a Protestant version of the bible edicts to be posted in every classroom.

“This poll shows at least a majority understands the importance of keeping religious ritual and proselytizing out of our public schools,” comments Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. “But it also shows that the Freedom From Religion Foundation and other state/church proponents need to step up education about why it’s so important to protect the right to freedom from religion for a captive audience of students, as well as the right of taxpayers not to be forced to support religious indoctrination.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

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