The separation of church and state has come under scrutiny again this summer later the Supreme Court sided with religious conservatives in a serial of rulings. 1 of the rulings allows states to fund religious schools indirectly, while some other protects religious schools from federal employment discrimination lawsuits.

Americans have been debating where to depict the line between religion and government since the country's founding. And even as the percent of religiously unaffiliated Americans rises, church and state remain intertwined in many ways – often with the public's support.

Here are eight facts most the connections betwixt religion and authorities in the Usa, based on previously published Pew Inquiry Center analyses.

While the U.S. Constitution does non mention God, every state constitution references either God or the divine. God besides appears in the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and on U.S. currency.

Congress has always been overwhelmingly Christian, and roughly nine-in-ten representatives (88%) in the current Congress place as Christian, according to a 2019 analysis. While the number of self-identified Christians in Congress ticked downwards in the terminal election, Christians every bit a whole – and especially Protestants and Catholics – are still overrepresented on Capitol Hill relative to their share of the U.S. population.

The religious makeup of the 116th Congress

Well-nigh all U.S. presidents, including Donald Trump, have been Christian, and many have identified as either Episcopalian or Presbyterian. Merely two of the most famous presidents, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, had no formal religious affiliation. Most U.S. presidents accept been sworn in with a Bible, and they traditionally seal their oath of office with "so aid me God."

Roughly one-half of Americans feel information technology is either very (20%) or somewhat (32%) important for a president to take strong religious beliefs, co-ordinate to a survey this past February. Just merely around four-in-x (39%) say it is important for a president to share their religious behavior. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say information technology is at least somewhat important for a president to accept strong religious beliefs (65% vs 41%).

Half of Americans say Bible should influence U.S. laws; 28% favor it over the will of the people

Americans are divided on the extent to which the land'due south laws should reverberate Bible teachings. Roughly half of U.S. adults say the Bible should influence U.Due south. laws either a great deal (23%) or some (26%), and more than than a quarter (28%) say the Bible should prevail over the will of the people if the ii are at odds, co-ordinate to the February survey. One-half of Americans, meanwhile, say the Bible shouldn't influence U.Southward. laws much (19%) or at all (31%).

More than six-in-ten Americans (63%) say churches and other houses of worship should stay out of politics. An fifty-fifty college share (76%) say these houses of worship should not endorse political candidates during elections, co-ordinate to a 2019 survey. Still, more than than a 3rd of Americans (36%) say churches and other houses of worship should express their views on social and political matters. (The Johnson Amendment, enacted in 1954, prohibits tax-exempt institutions like churches from involvement in political campaigns on behalf of any candidate.)

Just virtually a third of Americans (32%) say government policies should support religious values. Two-thirds (65%) say religion should exist kept out of regime policies, a 2017 Pew Research Center survey found.

Fifty-fifty though the Supreme Court ruled in 1962 that it is unconstitutional for a teacher to lead a course in prayer at a public schoolhouse, 8% of public school students ages thirteen to 17 say they accept always experienced this, co-ordinate to a 2019 survey. (It is, still, possible that some teens who said they've experienced this could have previously attended religious private schools where teacher-led prayer is constitutional.) This experience is more mutual in the South (12%) than in the Northeast (two%). Four-in-10 U.S. teens in public schools (41%) feel it's appropriate for a teacher to lead a class in prayer, including 29% of teens who know that this practice is banned only say that it is acceptable nevertheless.

Dalia Fahmy is a senior author/editor focusing on organized religion at Pew Inquiry Center.