A majority of Americans say religion can answer most problems.
The findings come from a Gallup poll taken in May. It found that 55 percent of Americans say religion can answer all or most of today’s problems.
Although the percentage has declined substantially over time, it has been relatively stable over the past year and a half and is up from the all-time low of 51% in May 2015.
In 1957, a time of greater religious commitment in the United States, 82% of Americans said that religion could answer all or most of the day’s problems. As recently as 2002, 66% of U.S. adults expressed the same sentiment. But the measure has declined since then.
The broad trend aligns with declines in church attendance and fewer Americans saying they believe in God or a creationist viewpoint.
Meanwhile, the 34% of Americans who today say religion is “largely old-fashioned and out of date” is up from 7% in 1957 and near the all-time high of 35%. The remaining 10% of Americans today have no opinion on whether religion can solve today’s problems.
As might be expected, people’s commitment to religion factors into their views of religion’s role in solving today’s problems. Among those who report attending church every week, 85% say religion answers problems, compared with 33% of those who seldom or never attend. Americans who attend church semi-regularly — nearly weekly or monthly — are closer to weekly attenders than nonattenders in their views, with 69% believing religion can help solve today’s problems.
Politically, 71% of Republicans say that religion can solve all or most problems, compared with 50% of independents and 47% of Democrats.