Moral issues make up some of the biggest fights facing America these days: Same-sex “marriage,” the “transgender” agenda and social media’s demand everyone adhere to its tenets, the racist teachings being promoted in Critical Race Theory, and more.
But only a stunning low 22% of Americans believe the nation’s “moral compass” is pointing the right direction.
The results come from the Deseret News “Faith in America 2022” survey.
The Washington Examiner reported the Deseret News is based in Salt Lake City and is owned by a holding company of the Mormon Church.
The survey reached out to 1,653 U.S. adults Jan. 19-26 and has a margin of error of 3.2%.
The poll said, “Seventy-two percent of Americans think the nation’s moral compass is pointed in the wrong direction while 22% believe it is pointed in the right one,” the poll said. “Seventy-four percent of Christians believe the nation’s morals are headed in the wrong direction, as does a majority of Americans who do not practice a religion (69%).”
The polling report said 90% of Republicans and 77% of independents agree on that point. But only 51% of Democrats agree.
“While the state of religion is continually changing, our study found that the majority of Americans still hold core religious beliefs and draw moral guidance from their families and their faith traditions,” explained Hal Boyd, executive editor of Deseret National. “Despite headlines that emphasize religion’s decline, faith remains a strong moral force in American life.”
The results from the Deseret News, working with the Marist Poll, said, “With the demographic characteristics of the American population shifting as baby boomers enter retirement, the state of religion is reaching a tipping point. Religious service attendance has continued to trend downward over the past decade, despite over half of Americans saying they believe in God as described in the Bible or pray daily. Age is shown to be one of the strongest indicators of whether or not one attends religious services. With younger age groups less likely to attend religious services than their older counterparts, the downward trend of religious attendance is likely to continue. As the demographic face of religion within America changes, so does the role religion plays in society.
“All generations of Americans believe it is necessary to follow the Golden Rule; however, younger generations are less likely than their older counterparts to believe that being religious is necessary in order to live a moral life. Americans find themselves looking to family more often than religious teachings when looking for sources of moral guidance.
“The connection between faith and politics is also at an interesting crossroads. Although a majority of Americans do not feel as though their religion plays a role in their political affiliation, one’s political stance can be a strong indicator of the role they feel religion does and should play in society. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to believe the future of the nation lies in God’s hands rather than in the American people’s control, and Republicans are also more likely to see divine
inspiration as having a hand in the creation of the Constitution and key Amendments.”
Fifty-four percent of the respondents said they believe “in God as described in the Bible, while 16% said they believe in God, but not as the Bible describes. Another 15% said they believe only in a higher power, and 13 percent have no belief.
Only 40% of adults nationally say they attend religious services at least one or twice a month, a huge drop from the 52% from just 11 years ago.
Not even one-third of Americans attend weekly services.
“Age plays a significant role in religious attendance. Those 60 or older (43%) are more likely than their younger counterparts to attend religious services at least weekly. 21% of those 18-29, 25% of those 30-44, and 27% of those 45-59 attend religious services at least weekly,” the poll said.
Further, 65% of adults said being religious is not needed to live a moral life, and even 54% of Christians agree.
Americans are most likely to obtain their guidance on a moral life from their family, followed by the rule of law, friends, religious teachings and religious leaders.
Still, majorities believe the Constitution and the First Amendment are “inspired by God,” but not the 2nd, 15th or 19th Amendments.
Only 45% say one’s religious values should influence their political positions.
Like almost every other poll recently, this one revealed 54% of respondents have an unfavorable opinion of Joe Biden.
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