American support for religious freedom is trending in the right direction.
Rebounding from COVID-19 lows in 2020, the Becket Religious Freedom Index registered a new high in 2023 in its annual monitoring of “first freedom” resilience in the United States. Amid widespread political polarization, core support for the right of individuals to live according to their faith remains strong.
“Despite some efforts to turn religion into a scapegoat for our nation’s problems, most Americans believe that religion—and religious freedom—are key to solving them,” said Mark Rienzi, president and CEO of Becket. “As we celebrate Religious Freedom Day, we should remember that religious liberty remains the cornerstone of our effort to form a more perfect union.”
Results were released on January 16, marking Virginia’s 1786 passage of the statute for religious freedom which became the basis for the establishment clause of the First Amendment. Initially led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the day has been commemorated in the United States ever since a presidential proclamation in 1993.
Either three centuries or 30 years later, there should be no “sky-is-falling narratives about American culture,” summarized the report.
Featuring 21 questions across six categories, the annual index measures perspectives on the First Amendment. Now in the report’s fifth year, Becket polled a nationwide sample of 1,000 Americans in October, scoring their opinions from 0 (complete opposition) to 100 (robust support).
The composite score is 69, one point higher than last year and up three points from 2019.
Becket’s report asserts the religious impulse is natural to human beings, and therefore, religious expression is natural to human culture. Through its law firm, the group defends religious rights. Through its index, Becket discovers if Americans agree.
Questions are repeated each year to measure consistency across detailed application:
- Support for “religious pluralism” measured 84 on a 100-point scale. Experiencing a 7-point increase since 2020, this category gauges popular support for holding beliefs about God, adhering to a religion, and living out the basic tenets of religion in daily life.
- Support for “religious sharing” measured 72. This second-highest category explores the extent to which people should be free to share their religious beliefs with others, but shows sharp divides between the religious and non-religious.
- Support for “religion in action” measured 68. With statistically significant half-point gains since 2019, this category studies the freedom to practice beliefs beyond the walls of the home or place of worship.
- Support for “religion and policy” measured 66. The only category not to score an all-time high, it probes the proper place of religion in crafting law and public policy.
- Support for “religion and society” measured 65. Up 3 points from last year, this category reviews the contributions of religion and people of faith to the creation of healthy communities.
- Support for “church and state” measured 59. Also up 3 points from last year, this most controversial category examines the boundaries of interactions between government and religion.
Beyond the questions that populate these categories, the index also gauged religious liberty opinions on three additional topics that test the levels of overall support. Two suggest pushback against a liberal ethos.
First, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 30 years after its passage in 1993, still…
This article was first published at Christianity Today on January 19, 2024. Please click here to read the full text.
Jayson Casper 