AP Poll: Religion Key in American Lives
June 06, 2005 12:56 PM EDT

WASHINGTON - Americans are far more likely to consider religion central to
their lives and to support giving clergy a say in public policy than people
in nine countries that are close allies, according to an AP-Ipsos poll.
Yet, the U.S. embrace of faith has its limits.

Religion and public policy often mix in the United States. Recent examples
include the bitter fight over the appointment of judges and the fate of
Terry Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman whose feeding tube was removed
despite efforts by the GOP-led Congress.

When politicians in this country try to blend religion and politics, they
find a comparatively receptive climate.

Nearly all U.S. respondents said faith was important to them and only 2
percent said they did not believe in God, according to the polling
conducted for the AP by Ipsos.

Almost 40 percent in this country said religious leaders should try to sway
policymakers, notably higher than in other countries.

"Our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian policies and religious leaders
have an obligation to speak out on public policy, otherwise they're wimps,"
said David Black, a retiree from Osborne, Pa., who agreed to be interviewed
after he was polled.

Still, 61 percent said they didn't think religious leaders should influence
government decisions.

"I think religion and politics are too closely intertwined in this
country," said Dillon Hickman, a businessman from Uniontown, Ohio, near
Akron. "A lot of religious leaders take too active a position in politics.
And it's getting moreso."

In Western Europe, where Pope Benedict XVI complains that growing
secularism has left churches unfilled on Sundays, people are the least
likely to believe among the 10 countries surveyed for The Associated Press
by Ipsos.

Only Mexicans come close to Americans in embracing faith, among the
countries polled. But unlike Americans, Mexicans strongly object to clergy
lobbying lawmakers, in line with the nation's historical opposition to
church influence.

The polling was conducted in May in the United States, Australia, Britain,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, South Korea and Spain.

"The United States is a much more religious country than other similar
countries, looks a lot like what you call developing countries, like
Mexico, Iran and Indonesia," said John Green, an expert on religion and
politics at the University of Akron.

In the United States, some of the most pressing policy issues involve moral
questions - such as gay marriage, abortion and stem cell research - that
understandably draw religious leaders into public debate, Green said.

The poll found Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to think
clergy should try to influence government decisions in this country.

For Jason Schindler, a 30-year-old Markle, Ind., businessman who has young
children, "Getting away from religion and overusing the separation of
church and state has put a damper on our children and society as a whole."

But Democrat Elizabeth Brill, a Democrat from Cleveland, said, "I don't
believe religion and government should mix."

Many countries other than the United States have been through bloody
religious conflict that contributes to their suspicion of giving clergy any
say in policy. But a variety of factors contribute to that feeling.

In Spain, where the government subsidizes the Catholic Church, and in
Germany, which is split between Catholics and Protestants, people are about
evenly divided over whether they consider faith important. The results are
almost identical in Britain, where the state church, the Church of England,
is struggling to fill pews.

Italians are the only European exception in the poll. Eighty percent say
religion is significant to them and just over half say they unquestioningly
believe in God. But in Italy, as in other European countries, enthusiasm is
low for the mixing of religion and politics.

The Associated Press-Ipsos polls of about 1,000 adults in each of the 10
countries were taken May 12-26. Each has a margin of sampling error of plus
or minus 3 percentage points.

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On the Net:

Ipsos site - http://www.ap-ipsosresults.com

Poll results are also available at:

http://wid.ap.org/polls/050606religion.html
 

Dan Elkins
dan.elkins@earthlink.net