<h1 class="entry-title"><i>The Washington Post</i><br><span class="entry-title"></span></h1><h1 class="entry-title"><br></h1><h1 class="entry-title"><span class="entry-title">A fortnight of facts about religious liberty</span></h1>
<div class="blog-byline">By <span class="author vcard"> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/robert-p-jones/2011/03/10/AB8dZXQ_page.html" rel="author">Robert P. Jones</a></span></div>
<div id="entrytext" class="entry-content">
<p>
<span class="imgfull"><img src="http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/figuring-faith/Images/2012-06-13T205439Z_01_ATL06_RTRIDSP_3_USA-CATHOLIC-010.jpg?uuid=GQC-TLuwEeGIZ-z2y3k17w" align="bottom" border="0" width="454"><br>
<span class="blog_caption">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)
</span></span>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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 <a target="_blank" href="http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/06/fact-sheet-catholics-and-religious-liberty/">religious liberty </a>can provide some context for understanding these debates.</p>
<p>• 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.</p>
<p>• 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. </p>
<p>• White evangelical Protestants (61 percent) are the only major
religious group among whom a majority believe religious liberty is
threatened in America today.</p>
<p>• Majorities of Catholics, minority Protestants, white mainline
Protestants, and the unaffiliated do not believe that religious liberty
is being threatened in America today. </p>
<p>• 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. </p>
<p>• 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.</p>
<p>
</p><div class="relative primary-slot padding-top img-border gallery-container photo-wrapper"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/catholic-in-america/2012/03/12/gIQArLVqES_gallery.html"><img src="http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/03/12/Web-Resampled/2012-03-12/c31212--296x197.jpg?uuid=19LFsmxlEeG2y49ABpj5fA" align="bottom" border="0" width="454"></a></div>
<div class="gallery-caption border-bottom relative caption padding-left border-left gallery-510"><a style="text-decoration:none" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/catholic-in-america/2012/03/12/gIQArLVqES_gallery.html" class="gallery-link"><p>
<b>View Photo Gallery</b>: 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.</p></a></div>
<p>• 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.</p>
<p>• 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. </p>
<p>• 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.</p>
<p>• 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.</p>
<p>• 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.</p>
<p>• 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.
</p>
<p>• 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. </p>
<p>• Nearly two-thirds (66 percent) of Americans agree that we must maintain a strict separation of church and state.</p>
<p>To read more about PRRI research on American’s attitudes about religious liberty, check out the following resources:</p>
<p>• Our <a target="_blank" href="http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/06/fact-sheet-catholics-and-religious-liberty/">fact sheet </a><a target="_blank" href="http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/06/fact-sheet-catholics-and-religious-liberty/]">
</a><a target="_blank" href="http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/06/fact-sheet-catholics-and-religious-liberty/]">
</a>
on Catholics and New Battle Lines Over Religious Liberty</p>
<p>• Our March 2012 PRRI/RNS <a target="_blank" href="http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/03/march-rns-2012-research/">Religion News Survey</a>
</p>
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By <span class="author vcard"> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/robert-p-jones/2011/03/10/AB8dZXQ_page.html" rel="author">Robert P. Jones</a></span>
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<span class="updated" title=""> 10:21 AM ET, 06/21/2012</span>
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