Mixing God and Politics
firstamendmentcenter.org: commentary:
Caught in the crossfire of culture-war battles over religion and politics, most Americans may be ready to say “a plague on both your houses.”
At least that’s one way to read a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and released Aug. 24.
According to the survey, nearly half of Americans (49%) believe conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to impose their religious values on the country. At the same time, 69% think liberals have gone too far in trying to keep religion out of schools and government.
Though most Americans are religious (and most think religious influence on our society is a good thing), few identify with religious political movements on the left or right. Only 7% call themselves members of the "religious left," and only 11% say they belong to the "religious right."