A large majority of Americans feel that religion is losing influence in public life, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey. While some say this is a good thing, many more view it as a negative development, reflecting the broad tendency of Americans to see religion as a positive force in society.

At the same time, U.S. adults are resoundingly clear in their belief that religious institutions should stay out of politics. Nearly two-thirds of Americans in the new survey say churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters, while 36% say they should express their views on day-to-day social and political questions. And three-quarters of the public expresses the view that churches should not come out in favor of one candidate over another during elections, in contrast with efforts by President Trump to roll back existing legal limits on houses of worship endorsing candidates.¹

In addition, Americans are more likely to say that churches and other houses of worship currently have too much influence in politics (37%) rather than too little (28%), while the remaining one-third (34%) say religious groups’ current level of influence on politics is about right.

On balance, U.S. adults have a favorable view about the role religious institutions play in American life more broadly – beyond politics. More than half of the public believes that churches and religious organizations do more good than harm in American society, while just one-in-five Americans say religious organizations do more harm than good. Likewise, there are far more U.S. adults who say that religious organizations strengthen morality in society and mostly bring people together than there are who say that religious organizations weaken morality and mostly push people apart. On all three of these questions, views have held steady since 2017, the last time the Center measured opinions on these issues.

The survey also shows that roughly four-in-ten U.S. adults – including a majority of Christians – lament what they perceive as religion’s declining influence on American society, while fewer than two-in-ten say they think religion is losing influence in American life and that this is a good thing. In addition, roughly two-thirds of the public believes that religious leaders in general have high or very high ethical standards, and a larger share of Americans who attend religious services at least a few times a year say this about the clergy in their own congregations. Among these U.S. adults who attend religious services, majorities express at least “some” confidence in their clergy to provide useful guidance not only on clearly religious topics (such as how to interpret scripture) but also on other matters, such as parenting and personal finance (see Chapter 2).

These are among the key findings from a nationally representative survey of 6,364 U.S. adults conducted online from March 18 to April 1, 2019, using Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is plus or minus 1.7 percentage points. Many of the questions in the survey were asked only of U.S. adults who attend religious services a few times a year or more often; results for that group have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

The survey, part of an ongoing effort by the Center to explore the role of trust, facts and democracy in American society, was designed to gauge the public’s views about many aspects of religion’s role in public life, as well as asking how much U.S. adults trust clergy to provide various kinds of guidance, what messages Americans receive from their clergy about other religious groups, how satisfied they are with the sermons they hear, how close they feel to their religious leaders, and whether they know – and share – the political views of the clergy in their houses of worship.

The survey shows that slightly more than half of U.S. adults say that the Republican Party is friendly toward religion (54%), while just under half say the same about the Trump administration (47%). Far fewer say these two groups are unfriendly toward religion. Other major societal institutions are viewed by majorities or pluralities of the public as neutral toward religion; for instance, roughly seven-in-ten U.S. adults say the Supreme Court is neutral toward religion.

Equal shares say that reporters and the news media (54%) and university professors (54%) are neutral toward religion, and 48% say this about the Democratic Party. In each of these cases, however, Americans are considerably more likely to say these groups are unfriendly toward religion than to say they are friendly. For instance, more than one-third of the public (37%) says university professors are unfriendly to religion, while just 6% say professors are friendly to religion.

On balance, Republicans and Democrats mostly agree with each other that the GOP is friendly toward religion. They disagree, however, in their views about the Democratic Party; most Republicans and those who lean toward the Republican Party say the Democratic Party is unfriendly toward religion, while most Democrats and those who lean to the Democratic Party view their own party as neutral toward religion.

Partisan differences in views toward religion in public life

The survey also finds that four-in-ten U.S. adults (including six-in-ten among those who identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party) think religious conservatives have too much control over the Republican Party. At the same time, one-third of Americans (including six-in-ten among those who identify with or lean toward the GOP) say liberals who are not religious have too much control over the Democratic Party.

More broadly, Republicans and Democrats express very different opinions about religion’s impact on American public life. Seven-in-ten Republicans say churches and religious organizations do more good than harm in the U.S., and two-thirds say these institutions strengthen morality in American society and mostly bring people together (rather than push them apart). On all three of these measures, Democrats are less likely to share these positive views of religious organizations.²

Furthermore, most Republicans say religion either has about the right amount of influence (44%) or not enough influence (38%) in the political sphere, while a slim majority of Democrats say that religion has too much influence in politics (54%). And although most Republicans and Democrats (including those who lean toward each party) agree that religion is losing influence in American life, Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to view this as a regrettable development (63% vs. 27%). There are about as many Democrats who say religion’s decline is a good thing (25%) as there are who say it is a bad thing (27%), with 22% of Democrats saying religion’s declining influence doesn’t make much difference either way.

Feelings about religion vary among Democrats based on race and ethnicity

There are stark racial differences among Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party in views on religion’s role in society: Black Democrats consistently express more positive views of religious institutions than do white Democrats. For example, half or more of black Democrats say churches and religious organizations do more good than harm in American society, mostly bring people together (rather than push them apart), and strengthen morality in society. White Democrats are substantially less inclined than black Democrats to hold these views.

In addition, two-thirds of white Democrats say churches have too much political power, compared with only three-in-ten black Democrats and four-in-ten Hispanic Democrats who say this. In fact, black Democrats are just as likely as white Republicans to say churches do not have enough influence in politics (37% each).³ And while one-third of white Democrats (33%) say that religion is losing influence in society more broadly and that this is a good thing, far fewer black (9%) and Hispanic (18%) Democrats agree.

Americans who attend religious services largely satisfied with political talk by clergy

The survey also sought to gauge people’s perceptions about the politics of their clergy, finding that relatively few Americans say their clergy are united on one side of the partisan divide. In fact, many Americans who attend religious services at least a few times a year say they are unsure of the party affiliation of the clergy at their place of worship (45%), while about one-in-four say their clergy are a mix of both Republicans and Democrats (27%).⁴ When those who attend religious services think they know their leaders’ party affiliation, slightly more say their clergy are mostly Republicans (16%) than say they are mostly Democrats (11%).

Among partisans, few say their clergy are mostly members of the opposite party. For example, among those who attend religious services at least a few times a year and identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, just 4% say their clergy are mostly Democrats, while 23% say they are Republicans. Similarly, among Democrats and Democratic leaners, 8% say their clergy are Republicans, while 20% say their clergy are Democrats. Among both groups, most say they are unsure of the political leanings of their clergy, or say that there is a mix of both Republicans and Democrats in the religious leadership of their congregation.

Most attenders – including majorities in both parties – are satisfied with the amount of political discussion they’re hearing in sermons. About seven-in-ten say the sermons at their place of worship have about the right amount of political discussion, while 14% say there is not enough political talk and 11% say there is too much political talk in the sermons they hear.

Furthermore, congregants tend to agree with their clergy when politics is discussed: Overall, about six-in-ten say they generally agree with their clergy about politics (62%), although Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say this (70% vs. 56%).

The survey asked those who attend religious services at least a few times a year the extent to which religious leaders help inform their opinion about three social and political issues: abortion, immigration and global climate change. Four-in-ten religious service attenders have a lot of confidence in their clergy to provide useful guidance to inform their opinion on abortion. Smaller shares have a lot of trust in their clergy’s guidance about immigration (20%) or global climate change (13%).

Republican attenders are much more likely than Democrats who go to religious services to say they have a lot of confidence in their clergy to provide guidance about abortion (53% vs. 25%). Catholics are consistently less likely than Protestants – particularly evangelical Protestants – to say they trust their clergy on all three issues. On abortion, for example, 34% of Catholics say they have a lot of trust in their clergy to provide guidance that helps form their opinion, compared with 46% of Protestants overall and 57% of evangelical Protestants who say this. Mainline Protestants (33%) and members of the historically black Protestant tradition (32%) look similar to Catholics on this question.

Other key findings from the survey include:

• Americans who attend religious services with any regularity express “a lot” of trust in the clergy or other religious leaders at their place of worship to provide advice about religious questions, such as growing closer to God or how to interpret scripture. They are more skeptical about advice from their religious leaders on other common life milestones and issues, such as marriage and relationships, parenting, mental health problems, and personal finances, although most express at least “some” confidence in their clergy to weigh in on these topics. And in general, Catholics are less likely than Protestants to say they trust their clergy to provide advice on these issues. (For more, see here.)
• Most adults who attend religious services a few times a year or more describe themselves as having at least a “somewhat close” relationship with the clergy at their place of worship, although respondents are much more likely to say they have a “somewhat close” relationship with their clergy (50%) than a “very close” one (19%). About three-in-ten say they are not close with the clergy at their congregation (29%). Just 8% of Catholics say they are very close with their clergy, a much lower share than in any other major U.S. Christian group analyzed. (For more, see here.)
• Many U.S. adults hear messages about religious groups other than their own from their clergy or other religious leaders. About four-in-ten religious service attenders have heard their clergy speak out about atheists (43%), while slightly fewer have heard clergy speak out about Catholics or Jews (37% each). About one-third of attenders say they’ve heard their clergy mention evangelical Christians (33%) or Muslims (31%). In terms of the types of messages congregants are hearing from their clergy, the messages about atheists tend to be more negative than positive, while the sentiments toward Jews are mostly positive.⁵ (For more, see here.)
• When searching for information about their religion’s teachings, religiously affiliated adults say scripture is the most trusted source. Six-in-ten U.S. adults who identify with a religious group say they have “a lot” of confidence in the information they’d find in scripture, and an additional three-in-ten say they have “some” confidence in this source. Four-in-ten would have a lot of confidence in the clergy at their congregation to give information about religious teachings. Fewer place a high level of trust in family, professors of religion, friends, religious leaders with a large national or international following, or information found online. (For more, see here.)
• Most Americans (66%) say religious and nonreligious people generally are equally trustworthy, while fewer think religious people are more trustworthy than nonreligious people (21%) or that nonreligious people are the more trustworthy ones (12%). Majorities across religious groups say religious and nonreligious people are equally trustworthy, but evangelical Protestants are more likely than others to say religious people are especially trustworthy, and self-described atheists are particularly likely to put more trust in nonreligious people. (For more, see here.)
• When U.S. adults find themselves in an argument about religion, most say they approach the conversation in a nonconfrontational manner. About six-in-ten say that when someone disagrees with them about religion, they try to understand the other person’s point of view and agree to disagree. One-third say they simply avoid discussing religion when a disagreement arises, and only 4% say they try to change the other person’s mind. (For more, see here.)

The remainder of this report examines the public’s views about religion in public life and religious leaders in further detail, including differences in opinions across religious groups. Chapter 1 looks at Americans’ views about religion in public life. Chapter 2 explores levels of confidence in clergy (and other clergy-related opinions) held by Americans who attend religious services at least a few times a year. And Chapter 3 looks at religion’s role in some of Americans’ interpersonal relationships, including levels of trust in religious and nonreligious people.

Americans largely have positive feelings about the role religion plays in American life. A slim majority of U.S. adults say religious organizations do more good than harm in American society, while just one-in-five say they do more harm than good. Specifically, roughly half of Americans give religious organizations high marks when it comes to strengthening morality and bringing people together.

But U.S. adults draw the line when it comes to politics: More than six-in-ten say churches and other houses of worship should not express their views on day-to-day social and political matters, and three-quarters say religious organizations should not endorse candidates for office.

Members of different religious traditions differ on these questions. For example, compared with members of other groups, evangelical Protestants express relatively high levels of support for religion in politics. A slim majority of evangelical Protestants say churches should express their views on political matters, and about half say that religious organizations do not have enough influence in politics. But even among evangelical Protestants, most say churches should not endorse candidates.

Among religiously unaffiliated Americans (those who say they are atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” sometimes called religious “nones”), most say religious institutions have too much influence on politics, and that religious conservatives have too much control over the Republican Party.

This chapter also includes an analysis by religious group of several questions about how friendly various institutions are toward religion. Most Republicans say the Democratic Party, university professors, and reporters and the news media are unfriendly to religion.

Many Americans say churches and religious organizations strengthen morality in society, bring people together

Most Christians see religion as a force for good in American life. Two-thirds of Christians say that churches and other religious organizations strengthen morality in society (67%), and 64% say they mostly bring people together. Seven-in-ten say that, overall, religious organizations do more good than harm in American society. Positive views of religion’s impact on American life are especially common among evangelical Protestants, but majorities in all Christian groups analyzed see religion’s influence as more positive than negative in these ways.

The views of U.S. Jews and the religiously unaffiliated are decidedly more mixed. For instance, while roughly four-in-ten Jews (42%) say religious organizations strengthen morality, a similar share (39%) say they do not make much difference in this regard and one-in-five (19%) say religious organizations weaken morality in American society. Among the religiously unaffiliated, those who say that religion does more harm than good outnumber those who say it does more good than harm (39% vs. 31%). Self-identified atheists are especially negative toward religion: 64% say religious organizations mostly push people apart (rather than bring people together), and 70% of U.S. atheists say that, overall, religion does more harm than good in American life.

Older adults generally express more positive views of religious organizations than do younger people, though across all age groups, larger shares express a positive view of religious organizations than a negative one.

Majority of U.S. adults say religion is losing its influence

A large majority of U.S. adults (78%) say that religion is losing influence in American life. The consensus among both men and women and those over and under age 50 is that religion’s influence has decreased. Most black and Hispanic adults also say this, though they are less likely than white adults to say that religion’s influence is in decline.

But while people from a variety of demographic and religious groups agree that religion’s influence is waning, there is less agreement as to whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. Most Christians, especially evangelicals, lament religion’s declining influence in American life. Jews, however, are more divided; 35% of Jews say it is a bad thing that religion’s influence is declining, but 25% say this is a good thing and 22% say it makes little difference. Most self-described atheists (71%) say it is a good thing that religion’s influence is declining, as do 46% of agnostics.

White and black Americans are more likely than Hispanic adults to say the decline of religious influence in American life is a negative development, and people over 50 are more likely than their younger counterparts to share this sentiment.

Majorities of Americans want houses of worship out of political matters

More than six-in-ten U.S. adults believe that churches and houses of worship should keep out of political matters (rather than express their views on day-to-day social and political questions), and fully three-quarters say they should not come out in favor of one candidate over another during elections.

Jews and the religiously unaffiliated are more likely than Christians to oppose political activity by religious organizations. Even among Christians, however, seven-in-ten say churches and other houses of worship should refrain from endorsing candidates for political office, and more than half (54%) say churches should keep out of political matters (rather than express their views on day-to-day social and political questions).

Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party are more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to say religious organizations should steer clear of politics. But both groups express more opposition to political involvement by churches than support for it.

The survey also shows that 37% of U.S. adults say religious organizations have too much influence in politics, while fewer (28%) think these organizations do not have enough influence in politics. About a third (34%) say churches have about the right amount of political influence.

Atheists (93%), agnostics (78%), Jews (58%) and those who say their religion is “nothing in particular” (53%) are most likely to say religious organizations have too much influence in politics. At the other end of the spectrum, Americans affiliated with historically black Protestant denominations are among the most likely to say that religious groups do not have enough influence in politics, with 54% expressing this view. And a plurality of evangelical Protestants (48%) share the opinion that religious organizations do not have enough influence in politics.

U.S. adults under age 50 (44%) are more likely than those ages 50 and older (30%) to say that religious organizations have too much influence. And men are more inclined than women to believe that religious groups have too much political influence (42% vs. 33%).

Most atheists, agnostics and Jews say religious conservatives have too much control over GOP; most evangelicals say nonreligious liberals have too much sway over Democratic Party

Four-in-ten U.S. adults say religious conservatives have too much control over the Republican Party. This view is especially common among self-described atheists (86%), agnostics (78%) and Jews (74%); among Christians, the prevailing opinion is that religious conservatives have “about the right amount” of control over the GOP.

One-third of U.S. adults say liberals who are not religious have too much control over the Democratic Party. Roughly six-in-ten evangelical Protestants think nonreligious liberals have too much sway in the Democratic Party, while half or more of the religiously unaffiliated (55%), Jews (52%), and those in the historically black Protestant tradition (51%) say nonreligious liberals have an appropriate level of control over the Democratic Party.

Adults under 50 are more likely than older Americans to say religious conservatives have too much influence over the GOP (44% vs. 37%). Meanwhile, those ages 50 and older are much more likely than younger adults to say nonreligious liberals have too much power over the Democratic Party (43% vs. 25%).

Republicans see Democratic Party, professors, media as unfriendly to religion

The survey asked Americans whether a variety of U.S. institutions, including both major political parties, are friendly, unfriendly or neutral toward religion. While just over half of Americans view the Republican Party as friendly toward religion, the prevailing view is that the Democratic Party is neutral toward religion.

Sentiments on these questions differ by respondents’ own party affiliation: Nine-in-ten Democrats (and those who lean toward the Democratic Party) say their own party is either friendly (28%) or neutral (61%) toward religion, and majorities among Democrats also view university professors and the news media as neutral toward religion. By contrast, approximately six-in-ten Republicans and Republican leaners say the Democratic Party, professors and journalists are unfriendly toward religion.

In addition, nine-in-ten Republicans view the Trump administration as either friendly (60%) or neutral (32%) toward religion. But fully a third of Democrats say the White House is unfriendly toward religion (35%).

The survey also shows that majorities of evangelical Protestants – most of whom identify with or lean toward the Republican Party – think that the Democratic Party, professors and journalists are unfriendly toward religion. At the same time, about six-in-ten evangelical Protestants think the GOP and the Trump administration are friendly toward religion.

Among a few largely Democratic subgroups, most atheists (69%), Jews (66%) and agnostics (62%) say the Trump administration is friendly toward religion, while most members of the historically black Protestant tradition (61%) take the opposite position, saying the White House is unfriendly toward religion.

Most people in both political parties view the Supreme Court as neutral toward religion. This is also the majority view across religious groups, although atheists are more likely than others to say the high court is friendly toward religion. Atheists also overwhelmingly see the Republican Party as friendly toward religion (84%).

A majority of U.S. adults think religious leaders have high or very high ethical standards (65%). And among those who attend religious services at least a few times a year, an even larger share have similarly positive ratings about the ethical behavior of the clergy at their congregation (88%).

The survey also finds that a majority have “a lot” of confidence in their clergy to give advice about clearly religious matters, such as growing closer to God (68%). But fewer are very confident that their clergy could give advice about parenting, mental health problems or finances. When asked how comfortable they would be seeking out advice from their clergy, most say they would be at least “somewhat comfortable” bringing a range of personal issues to their religious leaders, though fewer than half would be “very comfortable” doing so, and fully a quarter or more of adults who go to religious services at least a few times a year say they would be “not too” or “not at all” comfortable speaking to their clergy about drug or alcohol issues, problems with anxiety or depression, or financial difficulties.

At the same time, most attenders report that they have at least a “somewhat close” relationship with their clergy (70%), that they are satisfied with the sermons at their church (87%), and that they tend to agree with the opinions they hear when their clergy discuss religion (85%) or politics (62%).

This chapter also explores the frequency with which attenders hear their clergy talking about other religious groups during services, and whether messages about these groups tend to be positive or negative. It also examines the sources of guidance that religiously affiliated U.S. adults trust when seeking information about the teachings of their religion.

Two-thirds in U.S. say religious leaders have high ethical standards

About two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) say religious leaders have “high” (54%) or “very high” (10%) ethical standards. Fully three-quarters of Christians (76%) say they think religious leaders generally have high or very high ethical standards. Among religious “nones,” 45% say religious leaders have high or very high ethical standards, while 54% give them “low” or “very low” marks for their ethics.⁶

Overall, religious leaders rank below medical doctors (whose ethical standards are rated as high or very high by 87% of U.S. adults) and slightly below police officers (70%). But religious leaders receive better marks for their ethical standards than journalists (whose ethical standards are seen as high or very high by 45% of respondents), lawyers (44%) and elected officials (26%).

The survey asked respondents who attend religious services at least a few times a year to rate the ethical standards of the clergy at their own congregation. Nearly nine-in-ten religious attenders give the clergy at their own congregation high (47%) or very high (41%) marks for ethics, compared with 78% of attenders who say the same about religious leaders in general.⁷

Among U.S. Catholics, those who attend religious services at least yearly are less likely to say the U.S. Catholic bishops as a whole have high or very high ethical standards (69%) compared with the share who say the same about their own parish priests (87%), Pope Francis (83%) or their own bishop (79%).

Most attenders feel they have at least a ‘somewhat close’ relationship with their clergy

Respondents who attend religious services at least a few times a year were asked to assess how close a relationship they have with the clergy or other religious leaders at their place of worship. Overall, roughly seven-in-ten say they have a “very” (19%) or “somewhat” (50%) close relationship, while 29% say they are not close with their clergy.

Within religious groups, majorities say they are very or somewhat close with their clergy – although the most common response across most religious groups is that congregants are “somewhat close” to their clergy. Protestants are more likely than Catholics to say they have a very close relationship with their clergy. Roughly one-quarter of Protestants in the evangelical (28%) and historically black (25%) traditions and one-in-five mainline Protestants (19%) say they are very close with their clergy, compared with 8% of Catholics who say this.

Nearly seven-in-ten attenders very confident clergy can provide advice about growing closer to God

Majorities of U.S. adults who attend religious services at least a few times a year have “a lot” of confidence in the clergy or other religious leaders at their place of worship to provide useful guidance about growing closer to God (68%) and the interpretation of scripture (60%). But while many attenders place a high level of trust in their clergy to guide them on religious issues, smaller shares trust their clergy “a lot” to give useful advice about marriage and relationships (47%) or parenting (40%). About one-in-four have a lot of confidence in their religious leaders to provide guidance on mental health problems (27%), and 21% have the same level of confidence in their clergy’s advice about personal finances.

By comparison, religious service attenders express relatively low levels of trust in clergy to give advice about social and political issues. Just four-in-ten say they have a lot of confidence in their religious leaders to provide useful guidance to help inform their opinion about abortion (39%). Even fewer express a lot of confidence in their clergy’s advice about immigration (20%) and global climate change (13%).

On almost all these topics, many other congregants say they have “some” confidence in their clergy to provide guidance, while fewer than half say they have “not much” or “no” confidence.

In general, the opinions of religious groups follow a similar pattern, with most major subgroups of Christians endorsing their clergy’s guidance on clearly religious matters but expressing less confidence in what their religious leaders might say about personal problems.

Among U.S. adults who attend religious services at least a few times a year, evangelical Protestants are particularly likely to have a lot of confidence in their religious leaders to give advice about religious questions. For example, eight-in-ten evangelical Protestants (82%) voice a lot of confidence in their clergy’s advice about becoming closer to God. By comparison, about seven-in-ten Protestants in the mainline and historically black traditions say this, as do 60% of Catholics.

Evangelical Protestants also are more likely than other major U.S. Christian groups to express a lot of confidence in their religious leaders to give advice on issues such as marriage or relationships, parenting and personal finances. They also are more likely than mainline Protestants and Catholics to have a lot of trust in their clergy’s advice about anxiety or depression. Catholics are less likely than all the other major Christian groups to have a lot of confidence in their clergy to give advice on almost all of the religious and personal topics asked about in the survey.

Evangelical Protestants again stand out for being much more likely than other Christian groups to express a lot of confidence in their clergy to provide useful guidance to inform their opinion about abortion. Nearly six-in-ten evangelical Protestant attenders have a lot of confidence in their clergy on this issue, compared with about one-third of mainline Protestants, Protestants in the historically black tradition and Catholics who say the same.

Levels of trust in clergy to guide opinions about immigration and global climate change are more similar across religious groups, although mainline Protestants are less likely than other Protestants to have a lot of confidence in their clergy’s guidance on immigration. And while the issue of global climate change has been a recent topic of conversation in the Catholic Church, only 8% of Catholics say they have a lot of confidence in their clergy’s guidance on this issue.

Republicans and those who lean toward the Republican Party are about twice as likely as Democrats and Democratic leaners to say they have a lot of confidence in their clergy to help form an opinion about abortion (53% vs. 25%). However, there are no significant differences between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to levels of confidence in their clergy to provide advice about immigration or global climate change.

Eight-in-ten attenders would be very or somewhat comfortable seeking advice from clergy if they were having doubts about their religion

Attenders also were asked to evaluate how comfortable they would be going to their clergy or other religious leader for various types of information, regardless of how confident they are in the advice their clergy might provide.

Eight-in-ten congregants say they would be either “very” comfortable (45%) or “somewhat” comfortable (35%) going to their clergy for advice if they had doubts about their religion. Roughly three-quarters also say they would be very or somewhat comfortable asking for advice about marriage or relationship problems, parenting problems, or problems with drugs or alcohol. But smaller numbers would feel comfortable seeking guidance from clergy about mental health or financial problems. Indeed, fully a third say they would be “not too comfortable” or “not at all comfortable” going to their clergy to talk about anxiety or depression, and more than four-in-ten (45%) express discomfort with talking to their clergy about financial problems.

Among the major subgroups of U.S. Christians, evangelical Protestants tend to feel more comfort going to their clergy than other groups, while Catholics express less comfort than others.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, congregants who feel they have a very or somewhat close relationship with their clergy are much more likely to say they would be comfortable going to their clergy to discuss the kinds of problems raised in the survey. For example, more than half (56%) of those who say they are close with their clergy would be very comfortable going to their clergy for advice when doubting their religion, compared with 20% of those who report that they are not close with their clergy.

U.S. adults who attend religious services are largely satisfied with sermons

Nearly nine-in-ten U.S. adults who attend religious services a few times a year or more say they are satisfied with the content of sermons at their place of worship, with 46% saying they are very satisfied and 41% saying they are somewhat satisfied. Just 12% say they are not too or not at all satisfied with the sermons they hear.

Within religious groups, about nine-in-ten in the three major U.S. Protestant traditions say they are at least somewhat satisfied with the sermons at their congregation, including a majority of evangelical Protestants who are “very” satisfied with the sermons. Catholics are somewhat less likely to be happy with the sermons at their parishes: Roughly eight-in-ten Catholic Mass-goers say they are satisfied with the sermons, although more are “somewhat” satisfied (52%) than “very” satisfied (32%).

Most church attenders also say the sermons at their place of worship strike the right balance of political discussion. About seven-in-ten (72%) say there is the right amount of discussion about politics, while 11% say there is too much political talk and 14% say there is not enough.

Majorities across Christian groups say there is about the right amount of political discussion in their sermons. In most major Christian traditions, the remainder are roughly evenly divided between those who say there is too much political discussion and those who say there is not enough. However, evangelical Protestants are an exception: They are more likely to say there is not enough talk about politics in the sermons at their church than they are to say there is too much (17% vs. 6%).

Republicans and Democrats are about equally likely to say that there is the right amount of political discussion in their sermons (74% and 71%, respectively). But Democrats are slightly more inclined than Republicans to say they are hearing too much discussion of politics in the sermons at their place of worship (13% vs. 8%).

Relatively few U.S. congregants say their clergy are united in one political party

More than four-in-ten U.S. adults who attend religious services a few times a year or more often say they are not sure about the partisan leanings of the clergy or other religious leaders at their place of worship. When those who attend religious services think they know their leaders’ party affiliation, they are slightly more likely to say their leaders are mostly Republicans than to say they are Democrats (16% vs. 11%). About one-in-four say their religious leaders are a mix of Republicans and Democrats.

About six-in-ten Catholics (59%) say they are unsure of the political affiliations of their clergy, a higher share than among any other religious group analyzed. Evangelical Protestants stand out because they are the most likely to say their religious leaders are mostly Republicans (29%). At the other end of the spectrum, nearly four-in-ten Protestants in the historically black tradition (37%) say they attend a place of worship with predominantly Democratic clergy.

Majorities of attenders generally agree with their clergy about politics and religion

U.S. adults who go to services a few times a year or more often generally agree with the political content they are hearing from their clergy. About six-in-ten attenders say they agree with their clergy when they talk about politics, while 28% mostly disagree.

Evangelical Protestants are more likely than people from other Christian groups to agree with their clergy when they talk about politics. Three-quarters of evangelical Protestants say this, compared with a smaller majority of Protestants in the historically black tradition (65%), about six-in-ten mainline Protestants (58%) and roughly half of Catholics (53%).

Republicans and those who lean Republican are more likely than Democrats to share political opinions with their clergy (70% vs. 56%).

When it comes to the teachings of their religion, attenders are even more likely to agree with their clergy. More than eight-in-ten attenders (85%) say they agree with their clergy about religion, while 12% disagree.

About nine-in-ten evangelical (93%) and mainline Protestants (90%) generally agree with their clergy about the teachings of their religion, compared with somewhat smaller majorities of Catholics (83%) and Protestants in the historically black tradition (81%).

Religiously affiliated adults most likely to place ‘a lot’ of trust in scripture to provide information about the teachings of their religion

The survey asked all religiously affiliated U.S. adults: If they were searching for information about the teachings of their religion, which sources of information would they trust the most? Scripture ranks at the top of the list of possibilities offered in the survey. Six-in-ten religiously affiliated Americans (61%) say they have “a lot” of confidence in what they would find in scripture to provide guidance about the teachings of their religion, and an additional 29% say they would have “some” confidence in scripture. About four-in-ten affiliated adults say they would have a lot of confidence in the clergy at their congregation to provide advice on this topic.

Just three-in-ten express a lot of confidence in the information that family members could provide about their religion’s teachings, though an additional 55% say they have “some” confidence in their family’s ability to guide them on this topic. Affiliated adults are less enthusiastic about endorsing other sources of information, such as a professor of religion, friends, a religious leader with a large national or international following, or the internet.

The patterns of trust in different sources of information are generally similar across religious groups. However, a high level of trust in scripture is particularly apparent among evangelical Protestants. About eight-in-ten evangelicals (82%) express a lot of confidence in scripture to provide guidance about religion. U.S. Jews stand out for being the only group that is more likely to say they have a lot of confidence in clergy than they do in scripture.

Separately, Catholics were asked about their level of confidence in the pope to provide information about their religion’s teachings. Fully 85% of Catholics say they would have at least some confidence in information they receive from the pope about their religion, including nearly half (46%) who say they would have “a lot” of confidence in the pope to provide guidance about Catholic teachings. By this measure, U.S. Catholics have somewhat more confidence in the pope than they do in the clergy at their congregation.

Additionally, 13% of Catholics say they would have not much or no confidence in information about their religion’s teachings from the pope. Catholics who attend Mass a couple times a month or less often are somewhat more likely than weekly Mass-attenders to say they would have not much or no confidence in the pope to give information about Catholicism (15% vs. 9%).

Most congregants do not hear their clergy talk about other religious groups, but when they do, messages are mixed

The survey asked respondents whether they have heard the clergy at their place of worship speak out about different religious groups. Among adults who attend religious services at least a few times a year, about four-in-ten (43%) say they have heard their clergy speak out about atheists, while slightly fewer say their clergy have spoken out about Catholics or Jews (37% each). And roughly one-third have heard their clergy talk about evangelical Christians (33%) or Muslims (31%).⁸

Respondents also were asked to assess the sentiment of the comments their clergy made about other religious groups. Adults whose clergy have talked about atheists say those messages tend to be more negative (19%) than positive (2%). An additional 7% say the messages are both positive and negative, and 14% say the sentiment from clergy is neither positive nor negative. Evangelical Protestants are more likely than all other Christian groups to say their clergy have spoken out about atheists in a negative way (31%).

On the other hand, discussions of Jews and evangelical Christians among clergy are reported to be more positive than negative. One-in-five attenders say their clergy have spoken about Jews in a positive way, compared with 1% who say their clergy have said negative things about Jews. Another one-in-ten report that they have heard both positive and negative things about Jews, or that they have heard their clergy speak out about Jews in a way that wasn’t inherently either positive or negative. This general pattern holds across religious groups analyzed.

The messages that congregants say they hear from their clergy about Muslims and Catholics are more mixed.

The survey included a few questions about interpersonal trust, asking respondents about the trustworthiness of religious and nonreligious people, and about how often they talk with other people about their religious beliefs.

When it comes to bestowing trust, most Americans do not care whether someone is religious. Fully two-thirds of U.S. adults say nonreligious people and religious people generally are equally trustworthy. In addition, most Americans do not restrict their friendship circles to people of similar religious beliefs; roughly two-thirds say that just “some,” “hardly any” or “none” of their friends share their religious beliefs.

Americans are somewhat more likely to discuss religion with relatives than with people outside their family. That said, most Americans do not talk about religion with family or friends with any regularity. Four-in-ten say they talk about religion with their family at least once or twice a month (39%), while three-in-ten say they discuss religion with people outside of their family with the same frequency (31%).

When Americans do talk about religion, they generally do not try to change other people’s minds about it. The overwhelming majority of U.S. adults say that when someone disagrees with them about religion, they either try to understand the other person’s belief and agree to disagree, or else they avoid discussing religion with the person. Just 4% say they try to change the other person’s mind.

Majority of U.S. adults say religious and nonreligious people are equally trustworthy

Fully two-thirds of Americans say religious and nonreligious people generally are equally trustworthy, while fewer think religious people are more trustworthy than nonreligious people (21%) or that nonreligious people are the more trustworthy ones (12%).

Majorities across religious groups say religious and nonreligious people are equally trustworthy. But evangelical Protestants are more likely than other Americans to say religious people are more trustworthy than those who are not religious. Four-in-ten evangelical Protestants take this position, compared with about one-in-four or fewer across other religious groups.

About seven-in-ten religiously unaffiliated adults also say that religious and nonreligious people are equally trustworthy. But when “nones” choose one group as more trustworthy than the other, a larger share say nonreligious people are more trustworthy than religious people (21% vs. 9%). In fact, among self-described atheists, fully one-third say nonreligious people are more trustworthy, compared with fewer than 1% who think religious people are more trustworthy.

Most Americans have friends who do not share their religious beliefs

One-third of U.S. adults say that all or most of their friends share their religious beliefs. Nearly half (46%) say that some of their friends share their religious beliefs, and an additional 19% say hardly any or none of their friends do.

Across most religious groups, fewer than half say all or most of their friends share their religious beliefs. Protestants in the historically black tradition are an exception: 56% in this group say all or most of their friends share their religious beliefs, a higher share than in most other religious groups. Religiously unaffiliated adults, on the other hand, are more likely than other adults to say hardly any or none of their friends share their religious beliefs. Three-in-ten religious “nones” say this, compared with roughly one-in-five or fewer across religious traditions. (A recent Pew Research Center report finds a similar pattern among U.S. teens.)

Most U.S. adults do not talk with family, others about religion on a regular basis

For most Americans, religion is not a very frequent topic of family conversation. About four-in-ten say they talk with their family about religion once or twice a month or more often. By comparison, a somewhat smaller share say they discuss religion with people outside their family on a regular basis (31%).

In general, members of religious groups are more likely to discuss religion with their families than they are with other people. And Protestants in the evangelical and historically black traditions are especially likely to discuss religion – both with family and non-family – at least once or twice a month. Six-in-ten or more in these groups regularly discuss religion with their families, and about half regularly discuss religion with others.

Religiously unaffiliated adults are much less likely to discuss religion at all. But when they do discuss religion, they’re just as likely to talk with family (17%) as they are to talk with people outside their family (16%).

When disagreeing about religion, most U.S. adults do not try to change the other person’s mind

Most Americans (62%) say that when someone disagrees with them about religion, the best thing to do is try to understand the person’s belief and agree to disagree. A third (33%) say they avoid discussing religion with the person. Just 4% say they try to persuade the other person to change their mind.

Overwhelming majorities of adults from every religious group say that when someone disagrees with them about religion, they either try to understand the person’s belief and agree to disagree or they avoid discussing religion with the person. Very few say the best thing to do is try to persuade the other person to change their mind. However, evangelical Protestants are more likely than other groups to say this is the best approach (11%) and are least likely to say they avoid discussing religion with the person altogether (19%).

This report is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of the following individuals. Find related reports online at pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/religion.

Research Team

Claire Gecewicz, Research Associate Gregory A. Smith, Associate Director of Research Kiana Cox, Research Associate Alan Cooperman, Director of Religion Research Besheer Mohamed, Senior Researcher Elizabeth Podrebarac Sciupac, Senior Researcher Becka A. Alper, Research Associate Kelsey Jo Starr, Research Analyst   

Editorial and Graphic Design

Michael Lipka, Editorial Manager Jeff Diamant, Senior Writer/Editor Aleksandra Sandstrom, Copy Editor Bill Webster, Senior Information Graphics Designer

Communications and Web Publishing

Stacy Rosenberg, Associate Director, Digital Travis Mitchell, Digital Producer Anna Schiller, Communications Manager Haley Nolan, Communications Associate

Vice President of Research Claudia Deane and Director of Internet and Technology Research Lee Rainie also gave valuable feedback on this report.

The American Trends Panel survey methodology

The American Trends Panel (ATP), created by Pew Research Center, is a nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults. Panelists participate via self-administered web surveys. Panelists who do not have internet access at home are provided with a tablet and wireless internet connection. The panel is being managed by Ipsos.

Data in this report is drawn from the panel wave conducted March 18 to April 1, 2019. A total of 6,364 panelists responded out of 8,396 who were sampled, for a response rate of 76%. This does not include five panelists who were removed from the data due to extremely high rates of refusal or straight-lining. The cumulative response rate accounting for nonresponse to the recruitment surveys and attrition is 5.3%. The break-off rate among panelists who logged onto the survey and completed at least one item is 1%. The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 6,364 respondents is plus or minus 1.7 percentage points. Many of the questions in this report were asked of respondents who attend religious services a few times a year or more often. The margin of sampling error for this group is plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

The subsample from the ATP was selected by grouping panelists into four strata so demographic groups that are underrepresented in the panel had a higher probability of selection than overrepresented groups:

• Stratum A consists of panelists who identified as Mormon or as Jewish, or who are non-internet users or have a high school education or less. They were sampled at a rate of 100%.
• Stratum B consists of panelists that are Hispanic, unregistered to vote or non-volunteers. They were sampled at a rate of 77%.
• Stratum C consists of panelists that are black non-Hispanic or 18 to 34 years old. They were sampled at a rate of 28%.
• Stratum D consists of the remaining panelists. They were sampled at a rate of 23%.

The ATP was created in 2014, with the first cohort of panelists invited to join the panel at the end of a large, national, landline and cellphone random-digit-dial survey that was conducted in both English and Spanish. Two additional recruitments were conducted using the same method in 2015 and 2017, respectively. Across these three surveys, a total of 19,718 adults were invited to join the ATP, of which 9,942 agreed to participate.

In August 2018, the ATP switched from telephone to address-based recruitment. Invitations were sent to a random, address-based sample (ABS) of households selected from the U.S. Postal Service’s Delivery Sequence File. In each household, the adult with the next birthday was asked to go online to complete a survey, at the end of which they were invited to join the panel. For a random half-sample of invitations, households without internet access were instructed to return a postcard. These households were contacted by telephone and sent a tablet if they agreed to participate. A total of 9,396 were invited to join the panel, and 8,778 agreed to join the panel and completed an initial profile survey. Of the 18,720 individuals who have ever joined the ATP, 13,493 remained active panelists and continued to receive survey invitations at the time this survey was conducted.

The U.S. Postal Service’s Delivery Sequence File has been estimated to cover as much as 98% of the population, although some studies suggest that the coverage could be in the low 90% range.⁹

Weighting

The ATP data was weighted in a multistep process that begins with a base weight incorporating the respondents’ original survey selection probability and the fact that in 2014 and 2017 some respondents were subsampled for invitation to the panel. The next step in the weighting uses an iterative technique that aligns the sample to population benchmarks on the dimensions listed in the accompanying table. For this wave, an additional weighting parameter was added to adjust for oversampling Mormon and Jewish respondents.

Sampling errors and tests of statistical significance take into account the effect of weighting. Interviews are conducted in both English and Spanish, but the American Trends Panel’s Hispanic sample is predominantly U.S. born and English speaking.

In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

The following table shows the unweighted sample sizes and the error attributable to sampling that would be expected at the 95% level of confidence for different groups in the survey:

Sample sizes and sampling errors for other subgroups are available upon request.

© Pew Research Center, 2019