WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Just over half of U.S. adults, or 52%, say they favor allowing public school teachers to lead their classes in prayers “that refer to Jesus,” while 46% of adults say they oppose it, according to an analysis from the Pew Research Center in Washington.
It also found support for Christian prayer in U.S. public schools varies widely by state.
“In 22 states, more adults say they favor allowing teachers to lead their classes in prayers that refer to Jesus than say they oppose it,” Pew said June 23, noting that support for such prayers is “particularly high in parts of the South.”
“In 12 states and the District of Columbia, more adults say they oppose allowing teachers to lead their classes in prayers that refer to Jesus than say they favor it,” Pew said. “The 16 remaining states are divided, with no statistically significant differences in the shares who favor or oppose allowing teachers to lead their students in prayers that mention Jesus.”
With 69% of adults opposed to teacher-led prayer, the District of Columbia ranks among the parts of the country “with the highest levels of opposition to allowing teachers to lead their classes in prayers that refer to Jesus.”
These findings come from the Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study. Conducted from 2023 to 2024, the study surveyed nearly 37,000 U.S. adults in all 50 states about their religious affiliations, beliefs and practices along with their social and political views and demographic characteristics.
Of the 52% who say they support teacher-led prayer about Jesus in public schools, 27% “strongly” favor it. Of the 46% against it, 22% say they are “strongly” opposed.
States with a majority of adults who favor such teacher-led prayer include Mississippi, 81%; Alabama, 75%; Arkansas, 75%; Louisiana, 74%; and South Carolina, 71%; Oklahoma, Kentucky and West Virginia, 67% each; South Dakota, 65%; North Dakota, 61%; Indiana, 58%; Kansas, 58%; Missouri, 57%; Nebraska, 56%; Ohio, 53%; and Michigan, 53%.
States with a majority of adults opposed to such prayer — with three on the West Coast and six in the Northeast — include: Oregon, 65%; Washington, 61%; California, 56%; Vermont, 64%; Connecticut, 60%; New Hampshire, 60%; Minnesota, 59%; Massachusetts and Colorado, 58% each; Illinois, 54%; New York, 53%; and New Jersey, 53%.
In the remaining states, Pew said that once the survey’s margins of error are accounted for, there is “no statistically significant differences” between those in favor and those opposed to teacher-led prayer in public schools. For example, 56% of adults in Delaware and 52% in Virginia favor such prayer. In Idaho, it’s 55%, and in Arizona, 53%.
“It’s important to note that teacher-led Christian prayers are just one way that religion can play a role in public schools,” Pew said. “The 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study also asked a separate question about “allowing teachers to lead their classes in prayers that refer to God but not to any specific religion.”
Nationwide, it said, “a slightly larger share of Americans say they favor allowing teacher-led prayers referencing God (57%) than favor allowing teacher-led prayers specifically referencing Jesus (52%).”
Pew’s 2023-2024 Religious Landscape Study was conducted in English and Spanish from July 17, 2023, to March 4, 2024, among a nationally representative sample of 36,908 U.S. adults. Respondents were recruited by mail, using address-based sampling. “This approach gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of being selected to participate,” Pew said.