Christians and Public Policy: More news from the people

Earlier this week (“Christians and Politics: Too much or too little?”) I shared information from a public opinion survey which showed Americans’ significant level of comfort with “Christians being involved in politics.” The poll found the following levels of support for such involvement: all Americans (52%), Protestants (61%), weekly church attendees (65%), and born-again/Evangelicals (72%).

I observed that the poll question was worded deliberately by the ERLC and LifeWay Research “in a way that would elicit the most negative response possible” because “politics” is “often perceived as partisan, rancorous, and something that many Christians feel is too ‘worldly.’”

When I shared the survey’s findings with my good friend Tony Perkins, the head of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C., he confirmed my thesis. He shared with me the results of polling they commissioned which produced even higher percentages of support when people were asked this question: “When religious leaders believe public policy decisions involve moral issues, they should be free to speak publicly on those policy decisions.”

Nearly three-fourths of Americans (74%) either “strongly agree” (49%) or “somewhat agree” (25%) that pastors and other religious leaders “should be free to speak” on “public policy decisions” that “involve moral issues.” Only 18 percent of Americans either “strongly disagree” (11%) or “somewhat disagree” (7%) with that statement.

While the survey did find a partisan divide on this issue, it was not as great as many might have believed with Republicans (83%) and Democrats (69%) supporting pastors speaking out. Independents (76%) were predictably in between Republicans and Democrats. Clearly, all these groups registered strong levels of support for religious leaders speaking out on public policy issues that have moral implications.

There was also a remarkable lack of divergence on this issue among urban (73%), suburban (74%), and rural (76%) voters. The survey also found that while there was predictably strong support among self- described “conservatives” (83%), support was also high among self-described “moderates” (73%), and “liberals” (63%).

Perhaps the survey’s most surprising result involved the attitudes of people who “never” attend religious services. Among such self-described non-worship service attendees, 72% agreed that religious leaders should have the right to speak out on policy decisions when they “involve moral issues.” While that level of support is not as high as the level found among those who attend worship “frequently” (79%), it is the same as those who “seldom” (72%) attend church and is still quite high. In fact, when averaged together the percentages equate exactly with the 74 percent approval found among the general population for religious leaders speaking out.

These survey results are yet another solid indication that Americans of all beliefs and political persuasions are far more comfortable with churches and religious leaders’ involvement with public policy issues and decisions than many pundits and analysts either believe them to be or they would think is appropriate.

The American people have the odd habit of deciding for themselves what they think is appropriate and then acting accordingly. The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” The facts seem to be that Americans, even those who never attend worship, are more than comfortable with people of faith being involved and speaking out on the moral implications of the public policy decisions facing the nation.