“Totally Separate”: Young People’s Beliefs about Religion in Politics
Do Young Americans Believe Religion Should Influence Politics?
“Totally separate” was Atticus’s (19, conservative) response when asked what he felt the relationship should be between religion and politics. Like Atticus, almost half (46%) of young people surveyed in the 2024 Springtide Study of Young People and Civic Life report that religion should have “no influence in politics”. Another 40% believe that religion should have “some influence.”
Three Insights into How Teens & Young Adults View Religion & Politics
Springtide’s in-depth interviews with 76 young people give further insight into how emerging generations understand religion and politics.
First, young people don’t believe in “forcing” their religion on others through government. Many respondents say they value America’s religious pluralism. These young people see the diversity of religious beliefs in the US as a good thing—as something worth protecting. J.J. (19, liberal), for example, says: “You should be able to wear your hijab into a government-owned building because you are there as an individual and as a citizen. As a citizen, you have rights to your own religious beliefs and practices.” A sizable portion of young people thus find problematic the idea of “forcing” their religion on others who do not share their beliefs. According to these young people, religion should influence one’s personal morality—not public policy.
Not everybody has the same religion, so I feel like putting religion in politics is not something we should do. But some of my religious beliefs influence my political beliefs. So, do we keep religion in politics—do we not? I’m still confused by that one.
If you’re a Christian and you don’t support abortion, obviously I feel like you should not be like, ‘Oh, nobody can have an abortion.’ But I feel like you could run campaigns to try to help people through abortions or help people with having a kid instead of having an abortion. I feel like you can have your political views without making it everybody’s lifestyle.
For a country like Saudi Arabia, I understand religion and politics are very much close together. It’s practically the same thing. But, meanwhile, in a country like the United States—we’re so diverse. People are from everywhere. I think that religion should stay separated.
Second, young people take issue with the use of religion as a political tool. Respondents use words like misrepresent, twist, and agenda to express their fears about religion as a political tactic. Like in Marissa’s excerpt below, this kind of language suggests that young people draw moral boundaries around which political expressions are “accurately” religious and which are illegitimate. According to young people, “inaccurate” uses of religion tend to be those they see as “hateful” and discriminatory.
[People] use a lot of ‘God.’ That is not really how I grew up with God. I keep saying, ‘Don’t use my God to push your Republican agendas.’ ‘Cause I think there’s a lot of hate involved. . . . I think I would just love to see that done in a way that accurately represents religion.
I don’t think the church should become a place of political propaganda. It should not be a tool for propaganda. . . . I think that’s highly misusing the church. It is a platform to speak out against certain wrongs or things that we believe that are wrong, but it should not be used as a tool to push for this agenda.
I get very upset when people try to use the Bible to fuel their conservative agenda and hate people. That’s just so not what Jesus or God would do. He would love everyone, and so it makes me upset because there are people who also identify as Christian or Catholic who believe the exact opposite of what I do. It frustrates me.
Third, both liberal and conservative young people identify uses of religion in the public sphere that center love and acceptance for others as more “appropriate.”
It’s part of our DNA to learn to love others. And I know it takes on a very different meaning. Sometimes when people interpret that differently, they show it differently. But that means being able to welcome people in. Although it doesn’t necessarily mean that you support everything that they have done or that they do. It means creating a welcoming space where they can feel safe without necessarily being attacked for certain views that they hold.
I’m a Christian, and my views align with Scripture. So, whatever is loving and just to the most amount of people . . . is what I go with. So, if it seems loving and appropriate, that’s where I side. And most of the time that ends up being Republican, but it’s not limited to that.
I know that God tells me to love other people. So, I don’t think it’s right for us to discriminate against people just because of their sexuality. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I agree with what they are, what they believe, you know, it’s just—I don’t think it’s right to put a law or something to ban people. That’s just oppressive. I always just go back to my belief.
Ultimately, young Americans recognize that the same religion can lead to different political beliefs. They observe that individuals who share religious beliefs sometimes come to drastically different political conclusions. While respondents from across the political spectrum focus on love, differences across their responses demonstrate that the political application of love varies widely, even among those who fall under the same religious or political labels. As Bridget (24, liberal) notes, “It’s just interesting how people within the same group can have such different perspectives on [politics].” Yejin (24, liberal) adds: “Obviously religion is a very personal thing. What one person thinks of as ‘progressive’ might not mean [what] another person think[s] of as ‘progressive.’”
Learn more about how young people navigate religion and politics. Order Cultivating Care: How & Why Young People Participate in Civic Life to see our newest data on how and why young people create and sustain patterns of care in their civic lives and how adults can support them.
Note: See survey responses in the topline survey results and review methodology here.
