Here's Where Democrats and Republicans Agree on Religious Liberty

Religious freedom has long been intertwined with hot-button issues from gay rights to abortion. When the line between religion and politics gets blurry, some call to uphold church-state separation, while others believe that religion can never be entirely separate from political beliefs. 

Related: Freedom of Religion - Religious Freedom - Religious Liberty

However, there are principles of religious liberty that most Americans agree with. Here are a few examples of data and stories to support that:

• 75% of Democrats, 64% of Independents, and 69% of Republicans agree with the First Amendment's establishment clause prohibiting the government from establishing or promoting a national religion, according to 2022 data from YouGov. 

• Pew Research Center (Center bias) data from 2021 suggests 58% of Republicans and 80% of Democrats believe that the federal government should never declare any religion as the official religion of the United States. 55% percent of Republicans agree with 73% of Democrats that the federal government should advocate for moral values shared by many faiths. 

• Pew Research shows that Republicans had a 15% drop and Democrats a 16% drop since 2016 in belief that being a Christian is a core part of being “Truly American,” according to 2021 data from Pew.

• Data from Pew in 2020 shows 93% of Republicans and 95% of Democrats think it is somewhat or very important to have a president that leads an ethical and moral life. 60% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans think it is somewhat or very important that the president stands up for people with their religious beliefs. 

• 74% of Democrats and 83% of Republicans agree religion is losing influence in American life, but only 38% of Republicans and 19% of Democrats say religion doesn’t influence politics enough, according to 2019 data from Pew.

See more examples of common ground on issues where you might not expect to find it:

• Here's Where Democrats and Republicans Agree on Abortion
• Here’s Where Democrats and Republicans Agree on Crime
• Unexpected Overlaps: Republican Voters Believe Humans Contribute to Climate Change, Support Limiting Emissions
• Republicans and Democrats Actually Agree on These Gun Restriction Policies

Clare Ashcraft is the Bridging Intern at AllSides. She has a Center bias.

This piece was reviewed by Managing Editor Henry A. Brechter (Center bias), Aidanne DePoy, Research Intern (Left bias), and Julie Mastrine, Director of Marketing and Media Bias Ratings (Lean Right bias).