Most U.S. adults favor allowing students to voluntarily pray in student-led groups at public schools, but far fewer support requiring students to participate in teacher-led prayer, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
The survey, conducted April 6-12, found 78 percent of U.S. adults favor allowing students to voluntarily pray in student-led groups. It comes as several states have passed or proposed legislation involving prayer or Ten Commandments displays in public schools.
Pew found 57 percent of adults favor allowing coaches to lead teams in prayer, while 50 percent favor displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms. Forty-six percent favor allowing teachers to lead their classes in prayer.
But support drops sharply when the question involves mandatory participation. Pew said 9 percent of Americans favor teacher-led prayer and believe students should be required to participate. Another 37 percent favor teacher-led prayer only if students are not required to take part, while 53 percent say teachers should not lead classes in prayer at all.
Views varied by religion, political affiliation and age, according to Pew. Republicans and Republican-leaning adults were more likely than Democrats and Democratic-leaning adults to support teacher-led prayer, coach-led prayer and Ten Commandments displays.
Pew also found broad support across groups for allowing students to voluntarily pray in student-led groups, even as views were more divided on religious expression led by teachers, coaches or school institutions.
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