Survey: Nearly Half of U.S. Adults Experience Conflict Between Religious Beliefs and Culture

Nearly half (48 percent) of U.S. adults say there is a “great deal” or “some” conflict between their religious beliefs and mainstream American culture, a new Pew Research Center survey found.

The share of U.S. adults who say they feel a conflict between their religious beliefs and American culture is up from 42 percent in 2020, and 29 percent say they view themselves as religious minorities, up from 24 percent in 2020.

“Overall, there are widespread signs of unease with religion’s trajectory in American life. This dissatisfaction is not just among religious Americans,” according to the poll report. “Rather, many religious and nonreligious Americans say they feel that their religious beliefs put them at odds with mainstream culture, with the people around them and with the other side of the political spectrum.” 

Broken down by different affiliations, 71 percent of white evangelicals, 59 percent of Jews, and 59 percent of atheists hold the view that their beliefs conflict with the culture.

“Smaller but still substantial numbers in other groups sense a conflict between their religious beliefs and the values of the prevailing culture,” the survey found. 

When asked how one should proceed when someone disagrees with them about religion, 41 percent of respondents say it is best to avoid discussing religion altogether, up from 33 percent in 2019. White evangelical protestants are most likely out of any group (14 percent) to believe in trying to change someone’s mind about religion.

A little over half (53 percent) say trying to understand another person’s perspective and agreeing to disagree is best, down from 62 percent in 2019, the survey found. Only five percent say the best approach is to attempt to persuade someone to change their mind — a percentage virtually unchanged since 2019.

The survey found similar responses about how to proceed with political disagreements. About half say understanding another person’s perspective and agreeing to disagree is the best course of action. Forty-five percent say politics should be avoided in the face of disagreement, while just five percent believe in trying to change another person’s perspective, the survey found.

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.