The following is excerpted from the Deseret News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
Most Americans agree that Christians are treated worse today than they were in the past. Still, a sizable minority thinks they complain too much.
Those are among the findings included in a new report on religious tolerance from Lifeway Research, which regularly fields surveys on American religious life. The data showed that even non-Christians sense rising anti-Christian intolerance, said Scott McConnell, the organizationâs executive director.
âMembers of other religions are noticing it,â he said. âTheyâre minorities in America, and theyâre saying, âWow. American culture is not tolerating the Christian faith.ââ
The report also highlighted concern about the state of religious liberty, a phrase that refers to laws protecting people of faithâs ability to freely live out their beliefs. More than half of U.S. adults (54%) said religious liberty is declining in America today, including 40% of those who donât identify as a member of a faith group.
Because the survey featured in the report was fielded in September 2021, it doesnât account for how the Supreme Courtâs recently concluded term might have shifted public opinion. Itâs possible that the courtâs decisions to overturn Roe v. Wade and protect a football coachâs right to pray at school, among other rulings, could have âturned the tide a little bit,â McConnell said.
But he believes the numbers would have held pretty steady, since respondents were likely considering much more than how Christians are faring in the courts. âReligious libertyâ may call to mind legal rulings, but âtoleranceâ is more about how people are treated in everyday life, McConnell said.
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