A survey looking at religion in the United States found the public is split on the role faith should play in daily life amid data showing people believe the country’s morality is amiss.
The Deseret News released the second part of its “Faith in America” survey on Monday, in conjunction with the Marist Poll, finding that 47% of the public holds faith to be a valuable component of work behavior.
“When businesses positively engage with religious diversity, it’s good for society, good for inclusiveness, and good for the bottom line,” said Eboo Patel, the founder and president of Interfaith America.
While 61% of respondents reported that religion and faith do not factor into decisions regarding where they worked or shopped, most are comfortable with co-workers knowing their personal religious beliefs.
In fact, 70% said they pray for colleagues, and 37% reported they pray for their workplace.
The survey found that younger people between the ages of 18 and 29 dominated those whose faith did not factor into the workplace, 68%, and store choice, 71%.
Additionally, the poll found that age was a stronger influence than faith regarding social media platform choice, with Facebook leading the way for those between ages 45-59 and YouTube dominating for those ages 18-29.
The first part of the “Faith in America” survey, which was released in March, found that most people believe the nation’s moral compass is “pointed in the wrong direction” despite 65% saying they do not believe “being religious” is necessary to live a moral life.
The Deseret News is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is owned by a holding company of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The survey was conducted using live interviewers via phone calls connecting with 1,653 adults from Jan. 19-26. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
