The conventional wisdom in American politics has long been that someone who is not religious cannot be elected president of the United States. Most Americans have consistently said it is important to them that the president have strong religious beliefs. And a new Pew Research Center survey finds that being an atheist remains one of the biggest liabilities that a presidential candidate can have.
Half of American adults say they would be less likely to vote for a hypothetical presidential candidate who does not believe in God, while just 6 percent say they would be more likely to vote for a nonbeliever.
Phone survey
These are among the key findings of a new Pew survey conducted Jan. 7–14 on landlines and cellphones among a national sample of 2,009 adults.
The new survey found 51 percent of adults say they would be less likely to vote for a presidential candidate who does not believe in God. Indeed, in the eyes of the public, being a nonbeliever remains a bigger drawback than having had an extramarital affair (37 percent say they would be less likely to support a candidate who had been unfaithful), having had personal financial troubles (41 percent say they would be less likely to support a candidate who had had financial struggles) or having used marijuana in the past (20 percent would be less likely to support a former pot smoker).
The study also shows that having a president who shares their religious beliefs is important to many Americans, with about half of U.S. adults saying it is “very important” (27 percent) or “somewhat important” (24 percent) to have someone in the White House who shares their religious perspective.
Being seen as a religious person is generally an asset for candidates; people who think a candidate is a religious person tend to be more likely to see that candidate as a potentially good president.
When asked about their view of religion’s influence in American society, the survey finds that the large majority of U.S. adults continue to believe that religion is losing influence. And most who hold this view — about half of all U.S. adults — say they think religion’s declining influence is a bad thing for American society.
Too little expression
The survey also shows that 4 out of 10 Americans think there has been too little expression of religious faith and prayer by political leaders, compared with roughly a quarter (27 percent) who say there has been too much religious talk by politicians.
(Pew)
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