[Vision2020] A fortnight of facts about religious liberty

[Art Deco]

*The Washington Post*

A fortnight of facts about religious liberty
By Robert P. Jones<http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/robert-p-jones/2011/03/10/AB8dZXQ_page.html>


Bishop Liam Cary (L), of the Diocese of Baker and Bishop George Sheltz of
the Diocese of Galveston-Houston read prayers at the start of an afternoon
session during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Annual Spring
Assembly in Atlanta, Georgia June 13, 2012. (TAMI CHAPPELL - REUTERS) Tonight,
the U.S. Catholic bishops will launch the “Fortnight for Freedom,” a
response to what theyclaim are encroachments by the Obama administration on
their religious liberty , the most well-known of which is a mandate which
requires all employers (including religiously affiliated organizations) to
provide birth control to their employees at no cost through their insurance
plans.

Over the next two weeks, there will be events at dioceses and parishes
throughout the country. The event will culminate with a July 4 Mass at the
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington,
D.C.

Given the recent abundance of competing rhetoric about how the general
public perceives religious liberty, and whether the public—and particularly
rank and file Catholics—believe that religious liberty is threatened today,
the following “Fortnight of Facts” covering the current state of public
opinion about religious liberty
<http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/06/fact-sheet-catholics-and-religious-liberty/>can
provide some context for understanding these debates.

• A majority of Catholics overall (57 percent), like the general public, do
not believe the right of religious liberty is being threatened in America
today. White Catholics are more evenly divided on the issue, with 49
percent saying the right of religious liberty is being threatened, and 47
percent saying it is not being threatened.

• Nearly 9-in-10 (88 percent) Americans agree that America was founded on
the idea of religious freedom for everyone, including religious groups that
are unpopular.

• White evangelical Protestants (61 percent) are the only major religious
group among whom a majority believe religious liberty is threatened in
America today.

• Majorities of Catholics, minority Protestants, white mainline
Protestants, and the unaffiliated do not believe that religious liberty is
being threatened in America today.

• When Americans who believe that religious liberty is being threatened
today were asked to explain in their own words how religious liberty is
being threatened, only 6 percent mention the recent debate around the
contraception coverage mandate.

• Americans who believe religious liberty is being threatened today are
most likely to cite issues such as removing religion from the public square
or general public hostility toward religion as examples.

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/catholic-in-america/2012/03/12/gIQArLVqES_gallery.html>

*View Photo Gallery*: With nearly one in four Americans in its fold, a
powerful lobby and extensive charity work, the Catholic Church is one of
the most influential institutions in America.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/catholic-in-america/2012/03/12/gIQArLVqES_gallery.html>

• Catholics overall are generally supportive of the contraception coverage
requirements. Majorities of Catholics say that publicly held corporations,
religiously affiliated social service agencies, colleges, hospitals, and
privately owned small businesses should be required to provide employees
with health insurance that covers contraception at no cost.

• White Catholics make few distinctions between churches and other
religiously affiliated employers. Slim majorities of white Catholics say
these organizations should not be required to provide employees with health
insurance that covers contraception at no cost.

• With the exception of publicly held corporations, less than half of
Americans who attend religious services at least once a week believe that
religiously affiliated employers should be required to provide employees
with health insurance that covers contraception at no cost.

• In contrast to stereotypes that the debates over same-sex marriage are
between religious and secular Americans, there are religious groups on both
sides of the same-sex marriage debate. Majorities of Jews, Catholics, and
white mainline Protestants support allowing gay and lesbian couples to
marry, while a majority of white evangelical Protestants oppose this.
African American Protestants are more divided.

• Religious liberty concerns are active among a subset of those who oppose
same-sex marriage. Approximately 1-in-10 Americans who oppose same-sex
marriage say they would support it if the law guaranteed that no church or
congregation would be forced to perform same-sex marriages.

• More than 6-in-10 (63 percent) Americans say that religiously affiliated
adoption agencies that receive federal funding should not be able to refuse
to place children with qualified gay and lesbian couples.

• A majority of Catholics overall say that religiously affiliated agencies
should not be able to refuse to place children with qualified gay and
lesbian couples, regardless of whether they receive federal funding. White
Catholics draw sharper distinctions between the responsibilities of
religiously affiliated agencies that receive federal funding and those who
do not.

• Nearly two-thirds (66 percent) of Americans agree that we must maintain a
strict separation of church and state.

To read more about PRRI research on American’s attitudes about religious
liberty, check out the following resources:

• Our fact sheet
<http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/06/fact-sheet-catholics-and-religious-liberty/>
<http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/06/fact-sheet-catholics-and-religious-liberty/]>
<http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/06/fact-sheet-catholics-and-religious-liberty/]>on
Catholics and New Battle Lines Over Religious Liberty

• Our March 2012 PRRI/RNS Religion News
Survey<http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/03/march-rns-2012-research/>
 By Robert P. Jones<http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/robert-p-jones/2011/03/10/AB8dZXQ_page.html>
|  10:21
AM ET, 06/21/2012

-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20120621/68afdee6/attachment-0001.html>