A New Poll Shows Americans Welcome Public Displays of Religion https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/religion-holidays/2022/03/a-new-poll-shows-americans-welcome-public-displays-of-religion/

March 30, 2022 | Kelsey Dallas
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In 2019, the Canadian province of Quebec banned a range of public-sector employees from wearing religious garb, including yarmulkes and turbans, on the job. France recently tightened such restrictions as well, in an effort to curtail Islamic extremism. This month, an Indian court upheld a ban on wearing hijabs in certain schools. These and other laws reflect a growing suspicion of religious expression in the public square. In the U.S., however, support for such expression is high, as indicated by polling results and recent state laws protecting religious liberty. Kelsey Dallas reports:

Even as interest in organized religion declines in the United States, Americans remain incredibly supportive of public displays of faith, according to new research from the Deseret News and Marist Poll.

The survey showed that more than nine in ten U.S. adults, including 93 percent of those who do not practice a religion, feel “very comfortable” or “comfortable” with people wearing religious symbols or attire. Republicans (96 percent) and Democrats (92 percent) are almost equally supportive of this practice, as are the youngest Americans and the oldest.

Meanwhile, state legislatures in the U.S. are passing laws creating additional protections for people of faith. In the past year, both Illinois and Ohio adjusted school sports rules to ensure that young athletes can wear faith-related garb as they compete.

However, these new policies and the research showing strong public support for religious attire does not mean the U.S. is problem-free. . . . In 2020, more than half of Jews (53 percent) said they were feeling less safe than they had in the past and 15 percent said they’d been called offensive names in the past year, according to Pew Research Center.

Read more on Deseret News: https://www.deseret.com/faith/2022/3/26/22989708/why-nearly-all-americans-support-public-displays-of-faith-religious-freedom