Poll Shows Americans Want Christmas in Schools and Religion in Public Life

December 22, 2015

According to polling recently released by Rasmussen, large percentages of Americans want more religion manifested in the public square and in public life.

76% believe Christmas should be celebrated in public schools, and 54% say there's not enough religion in the public schools. Of those adults "with school-age children at home, 82% favor celebrating Christmas in public schools, and 61% believe there should be more religion in those schools."

Interestingly, "[s]ignificant majorities of adults across most demographic categories believe Christmas should be celebrated in public schools." 80% of adults who celebrate Christmas in their family support it being in schools, compared to just 27% of those who don't celebrate the holiday, and 60% of adults 40 and over think there is not enough religion in public schools. 71% think Christmas should be "more about Jesus Christ than about Santa Claus."

57% of Americans favor prayer in public school, and 73% support "giving parents a choice between a school that allows prayer and one that does not."

Americans largely support religion playing a prominent role in public life: 57% say it is not possible to have a healthy community without churches or a religious presence. 71% of Americans say their religious faith is important in their daily life, and 49% consider it "very important."

Americans also appear to be tiring of government's over-sensitivity to political correctness. 42% of U.S. voters believe that "when it comes to the concerns of racial, ethnic, religious and social minorities in America, the government is too sensitive." 29% say the government is not sensitive enough to those groups, and 18% think the level of government sensitivity is about right, while 12% are not sure.

While governments and activist groups may want to scrub the public square of religion, the American public itself doesn't want that. Any way you slice it, people are voicing the view that religion has a role to play in our society, and it isn't going away.