Becket survey: Overall support for religious liberty grew in 2024

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 17, 2025 / 09:10 am (CNA).

Support for religious liberty among Americans grew over the past year in most categories, according to the 2024 Religious Freedom Index survey from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, published Jan. 16.

The sixth edition of the report found that religious freedom overall continues to grow with its religious freedom index hitting 70 out of a possible 100 — the highest score recorded by the organization and a two-point increase from the previous year. The survey polls Americans on a variety of religious liberty issues.

According to the survey, the category of “Religious Pluralism” had the highest support, scoring an 86 out of a possible 100. This subset measures how respondents view basic rights and the ability to live out one’s faith, especially when those practices are outside of the mainstream.

Other high-ranking categories were “Religious Sharing” at 72, which measures to what extent people should be free to share their beliefs with others, and “Religion in Action” at 70, which measures to what extent people believe a person’s faith should be permitted to be expressed in their public lives.

Some lower-ranking categories were “Religion and Policy” at 68, which measures how much people support religious freedom in law; “Religion and Society” at 67, which measures how much people believe religion should influence society; and “Church and State” at 58, which measures how much people believe government and religion should be able to intersect. 

The report, which surveyed 1,000 adults, was released on National Religious Freedom Day.

“Americans drew a line in the sand in this year’sindex: Government doesn’t get to push people around for keeping the faith,” Mark Rienzi, president and CEO of Becket, said in a statement. “From coast to coast, we witnessed a groundswell of support for Americans to live out their faith in public, even when their beliefs cut against the grain.”   

“Even in a time of deep division, most Americans still believe religion — and the freedom to practice it — is crucial to overcoming our disagreements,” Rienzi said. “As we celebrate Religious Freedom Day, we should take heart that our nation remains committed to forging a future where faith is a cornerstone of our culture.”

According to the survey, 77% of Americans either strongly or mostly support a parent’s right to opt their children out of public school curriculum about gender identity and sexuality if it violates their religious beliefs or they believe it is not age appropriate. Only 23% disagreed.

The survey also found that about two-thirds of respondents believe Massachusetts was wrong to reject a foster parent application from a Catholic couple because they adhere to Catholic teachings about marriage, sexuality, and gender. About one-third sided with the state’s decision.

On issues related to abortion, most Americans also took the side of religious liberty. 

The survey found that 70% of respondents oppose government mandates that would force a religious employer to pay for abortions when abortion is against the organization’s beliefs. It also found that 70% of respondents believe health care workers with religious objections to abortion should not be forced to participate in abortion procedures. 

According to the survey, 82% of Americans believe people should have freedom of religion at work, such as the right to wear religious clothing or not work on certain days. Another 63% of respondents said that people should have the freedom to practice their religion even if it creates an inconvenience for others. 

The survey also found that 56% of Americans believe that religion is part of the solution to society’s problems and 44% believe religion is primarily part of the problem.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/261611/becket-survey-overall-support-for-religious-liberty-grew-in-2024