Seventy-two percent of the American public think religion is losing its influence in the U.S., according to a new Pew Research poll released on Monday, and most of those people think the trend is a bad thing.
The survey, which interviewed 2,002 adults among a national sample between Sept. 2 and Sept. 9, also found an increasing number of Americans (49%) believe churches and other houses of worship should express their views on social and political issues, up from 43 percent in 2010.
Forty-one percent, compared with 37 percent in 2010, said there has been "too little expression of religious faith and prayer from political leaders," said Pew. And 32 percent of the growing minority think that churches should outright endorse candidates for office.
"Analysis also shows that growing support for religion in politics is concentrated among those who think religion has a positive impact on society," said Pew. "And the desire for religion in public life is much more evident among Republicans and those who lean toward the GOP than among Democrats and Democratic leaners."
Aside from religion, the poll also found signs of discontent amongst Republican Party supporters. At least half said the party is not appropriately representing their views on illegal immigration, government spending, or same-sex marriage. Forty-five percent said the party is not doing a good job representing their views on abortion.
On the other side, more than half of the Democrats polled said the Democratic Party is in fact doing a good job representing their views on all of the issues.
Other interesting findings include:
• A larger portion of those polled see the Republican Party (47%) as more friendly towards religion than the Democratic Party (29%).
• Only thirty percent see the Obama administration as friendly to religion, down seven points since 2009.
• Fifty-nine percent say it is important for Congress to have strong religious beliefs.
