Poll: Number of Americans who support prayer in school declining

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Sept 27, 2014
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Most Americans support allowing daily prayer to be said in the classroom, though that support is not as much as it had once been.

Roughly 61 percent of Americans support prayer to be said in school, but that’s down from the 66 percent of Americans that supported it in 2001 and the 70 percent in 1999, according to a Gallup Poll. And more than half of those who identify themselves with a Christian denomination or who regularly attend church say prayer should be said in school.

At least 75 percent of Americans support permitting a prayer being said during a school graduation ceremony, which is down from the 83 percent that supported in 1999.

The support is also based on the person’s own religious activities. The report says those who do not regularly or never attend church “are split on daily prayer in the classroom.”

“Religion continues to be important to many Americans,” according to the Gallup Poll report. “The vast majority of Americans identify with a religion, a majority of Americans say religion can solve today’s problems, and three in four Americans see the Bible as the actual or inspired word of God. Thus, it is not surprising that a majority of Americans are in favor of religion having a larger presence in schools.”

In 2005, according to Gallup, three out of four Americans said they would support a constitutional amendment to allow voluntary prayer in public schools.

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Michael D. Pitman has been a reporter in southwest Ohio since 1999. He's covered local governments in Warren and Butler counties, as well as state and national issues. He currently covers the cities of Fairfield and Hamilton.