This post first appeared on Christians think they face growing intolerance in the US: LifeWay Research Survey
Drastic increase in survey numbers in 2 years.
AB Wire
The number of Americans who think Christians are facing growing intolerance in the United States has drastically increased in two years, according to a new poll, LifeWay Research Survey.
Sixty-three percent of respondents in the survey said they agree or strongly agree that Christians are facing growing levels of persecution, up from 50 percent in 2013. The bulk of the surge comes from respondents who said they “strongly agree” with the statement, which increased from 28 to 38 percent over that span, according to the Washington Times.
The poll surveyed 1,000 respondents by phone from Sept. 14–28 last year and has a margin of error of 3.6 percent.
Although the poll shows higher rates of anxiety about the state of religious freedom in America, it also indicates that the issue is increasingly becoming polarized. A growing number of people in the survey said Christians “complain too much about how they are treated,” up from 34 percent in 2013 to 43 percent in 2015, said the report.
Perhaps that polarization can be attributed to a cultural rift in America based on geography. Those surveyed in the South were more likely to agree that Christians are facing more persecution, answering affirmatively at a clip of 69 percent, compared to 57 percent in the West.
Educational attainment also appears to affect attitudes toward religion. Respondents who hold a college degree agreed with the statement 66 percent of the time, while those with a graduate degree only did so at a 53 percent rate.
And Protestants were much more likely than their Catholic counterparts to say Christians face growing intolerance, by a 74 to 59 percent margin.
The poll, which was published on March 30, was conducted after the Supreme Court struck down state laws prohibiting same-sex marriage in June, according to the Washington Times.
That decision has intensified the growing debate about where religious liberty ends and discrimination begins. LGBT couples contend that their rights are violated when religious wedding vendors decline to service same-sex wedding ceremonies, while religious bakers and florists believe their right to religious freedom is the one being trammeled.
Several states have moved to pass Religious Freedom Restoration Acts and First Amendment Defense Acts to protect the free exercise of religion, but proponents of LGBT rights say such laws are discriminatory and have prompted severe backlashes from the business community in some states.
This post first appeared on The American Bazaar