Pollster finds deep U.S. ambivalence on religion-politics ties

Published: 2004-04-13

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- When it comes to religion and politics, Americans are deeply ambivalent, according to Albert Winseman, religion and values editor for The Gallup Organization in Atlanta. "The public is not quite sure of the role religion should play in government and vice versa," Winseman said at a recent briefing in Washington for religion reporters. The 86 percent of the U.S. population that believes in God is "far, far higher than Canada, Great Britain or Western Europe," he said. Another 8 percent of Americans believe in "a higher power or universal spirit," while only 5 percent said they believe in neither. The latest Gallup figures show that nearly half (49 percent) of Americans identify themselves as Protestants, 24 percent say they are Catholic and 9 percent belong to other Christian religions. Two percent say they are Jewish, 5 percent say they belong to other faiths and 11 percent say they are atheists, agnostics or have no religion. Although two-thirds of Americans think religion can answer today's problems, Winseman said, "there's a real disconnect" between that belief and "what they see happening" in American society.

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