A narrow majority of Americans still oppose removing school prayer and Bible reading

Evidence

A final piece of evidence points to a long-term trend of slow but stable decline in the past 30 years regarding support for Christian nationalism. Since 1974 the General Social Surveys (GSS) have asked respondents whether they “Disapprove” or “Approve” of the United States Supreme Court ruling that no state or local government may require the reading of the Lord’s Prayer or Bible verses in public schools. This question is very similar to one of the measures included in our Christian nationalism scale, and the wording (essentially tapping into Americans’ thoughts about the government restricting Christianity’s influence in public institutions) makes it a useful measure for our purposes. Figure 1.10 displays the results from 1974 to 2018. While in the 1970s less than 32 percent of Americans approved of this ruling, roughly 48 percent of Americans feel that same way today. Likewise, nearly 70 percent disapproved 40 years ago while only 52 percent respond similarly today. Since the mid-1980s, however, there is little evidence of shifts in either group despite small variations across survey years. This long-term trend suggests two things. First, there is mostly stability with some evidence of growth in resistance to Christianity in public life. Second, though, a majority of Americans (52 percent) still disapprove of this Supreme Court ruling, meaning most Americans are at the very least accommodating of a key Christian nationalist belief. — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 186

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 186
• XREF: connects to: Republican and Democratic support for school prayer diverged sharply over four decades — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 606

Broader Connections

• Republican and Democratic support for school prayer diverged sharply over four decades #qualifies (0.72) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 606