December 18, 2003
Report & Analysis · Data · Other Poll Releases
Georgians are generally supportive of mixing religion and government, according to a new Peach State Poll. The quarterly survey of public opinion conducted by the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government finds that 79 percent of Georgians either strongly approve (62 percent) or mildly approve (16 percent) of allowing a nondenominational prayer in a public school ceremony, and 72 percent either strongly approve (59 percent) or mildly approve (13 percent) of displaying the Ten Commandments in a government building. In addition, one in three Georgians (33 percent) approve of posting of a verse from the Koran in a government building.
A majority of Georgians would like to see religious values have greater influence in politics and public life, but the public is somewhat ambivalent about using state funds to support programs run by religious organizations. Sixty-five percent approve of using state funds for social programs run by Christian organizations, but only 39 percent approve of the state funding social programs run by Islamic organizations. When asked about state funding of programs run by faith-based organizations generally, 47 percent say it is inappropriate to use tax-payer money in this way, whereas 40 percent say it is an appropriate use of such funds.
Other Peach State Poll results:
* A slim plurality (45 percent) of Georgians are more likely to feel that people who file lawsuits opposing such things as prayer in public schools or displays of religious symbols in government buildings are trying to protect themselves and others from having religion forced upon them than to feel that such people are trying to create a godless society (40 percent).
* People in the Atlanta metropolitan area are more apt to favor keeping government secular than are Georgians outside of Atlanta. While 58 percent of non-Atlantans would like to see religious values have greater influence in politics, only 46 percent of Atlantans share this view.
* Older Georgians are more likely to favor mixing religion and government than are younger Georgians. Fifty-one percent of Georgians over the age of 65 believe that the courts have been generally hostile to Christian religions, compared with 22 percent of Georgians between the ages of 18 and 25 who share this view.
* Eighty percent of Georgians strongly disagree with removing the reference to God from the pledge of allegiance, with only 11 percent of Georgians agreeing with removing it.
These data were taken from a Peach State Poll survey conducted between November 16 and November 23, 2003. The poll included 807 telephone interviews of randomly selected adults in Georgia. For a sample of this size, the margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level is +/-3.5 percent.
