Most Americans are in favour of allowing prayer in public schools, according to a new poll. 
The issue of prayer in schools is a hot topic in the US, with secular groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union claiming that the American Constitution forbids prayer in public schools.
However, according to a new Rasmussen Reports 65 per cent of American adults favor prayer in public schools. Twenty-four per cent are opposed, while 11 per cent are not sure.
Respondents were asked: “Do you favour or oppose prayer in public schools?” According to the pollsters, the findings “show little change from late April of last year”.
Those in favour of school prayer point out that the US Constitution merely prevents Congress from establishing a religion, “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”.
The poll also shows that 73 per cent of adults say religious faith is at least somewhat important in their daily life, although that’s down from 80 per cent in April 2010.
The new finding includes 54 per cent who say it’s very important, while 23 per cent say religious faith is not very or not at all important in their day-to-day lives.
Sixty-one percent of Americans say they pray at least once every day, and that includes 29 per cent who pray several times a day. Fifteen percent say they rarely or never pray. That’s comparable to earlier findings.
Women place much more emphasis on religious faith than men and are much more likely to pray regularly. They also favour prayer in school more strongly. African-Americans value faith more than whites and those of other races and tend to pray more than adults in the other two groups.
Evangelical Christians support prayer in school more strongly than other Protestants, Catholics and those of other faiths. Evangelicals also place more importance on religious faith and pray more often.
While legal battles continue to arise, Americans still overwhelmingly support the display of religious symbols on public land and the celebration of religious holidays in the public schools.
Last April, just after a federal judge in Wisconsin struck down the National Day of Prayer, 60 per cent of Americans favored having the federal government recognise a National Day of Prayer. Sixty-four percent believe judges’ rulings have been more anti-religious than the Founding Fathers intended.
Yet while a sizable number of voters view the religious faith of political candidates as important, they don’t want their local religious leaders telling them who to vote for. They also have mixed feelings about how much influence religious leaders should have when it comes to U.S. government policy.
