Latest news with #Protestants
Irish Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Post
When the blame game turns deadly
RACISTS who burned migrants out of their homes this month in Ballymena, County Antrim, have found it strangely difficult to explain what they were up to. There had been a clear trigger moment in the charging of two Roma boys with an alleged sexual assault on a local girl. Many had gathered one evening for a vigil in support of the girl. And that might have been a good thing to do and one would be slow to attribute racism to any who joined that gathering. But would they have gathered in the same numbers if the alleged assailants had been Ballymena-born white boys? The fact of the accused being migrants in the town played such a strong part in local outrage that, after the expressions of sympathies for the girl, mobs turned on migrant families in the area, stormed their homes, set some of them alight, rampaged through others while mothers and children crouched for safety in dark and dusty attic spaces. Whole families might have been incinerated. But not this time. A loyalist mural in Bellymena (Pic: Lisa Jarvis) As with many things in Northern Ireland we got a spectrum of response to this violence, from the callously racist to the liberal, inclusive and secular. And, as often, this spectrum mapped onto the sectarian spectrum too that describes our historically divided society. The hard racism was coming from working class Protestants, justifying the violence in defence of a community that had been invaded. This attitude associated migrants with rape, much as Donald Trump does. Trump's toxic verbiage makes it easier for people to spew the same unreasoning bilge. The problem is that 'they' get everything. 'They' are illegal. 'They' have no right to be here. Except that when officials eventually came out to explain, there were no asylum seekers/illegal migrants in Ballymena. People coming under attack were in jobs, some of them in the health service. Next along the spectrum comes the unionist politician who, naturally, condemns violence but seeks to explain it. For this is a unionist area. This one says that the trouble had been boiling up for months. He or she had seen it coming, had warned that tensions were rising and had been ignored. SDLP leader Claire Hanna in 2017 (Photo: Sam Boal/ But why? And why can this reasonable sounding professional politician not be clearer about what drives community discontent? The health minister Mike Nesbitt warned that if health service workers of foreign origin were driven out of Northern Ireland the service would collapse. That's how serious this is. Then further along the spectrum we got the nationalist response, led most vocally by Claire Hanna MP (SDLP). She was calling out the racism of thugs, conceding nothing to the idea that migrants have special privileges or that anything is lost to a community when brown faces start to appear on the streets. There is however a problem of resources but you deal with that by campaigning for the government to provide, not by throwing a petrol bomb through the window of a young mother who pays the same price for bread and milk as you do yourself. Claire took care to say that there is racism in her community too. Catholics and Nationalists can be racist. Indeed some in the Sinn Féin base, the most ardently nationalistic of all, have scoffed at their own leadership for being too sympathetic to migrants. The old slogan, Give Ireland Back to the Irish, is, for some, no longer simply a call for British withdrawal but for migrants to be deported. But this month the racism was coming from Protestant working class communities and that, for some Catholic Nationalists, helps to affirm the perception that they - the prods - are the bigots, that Protestant/ Loyalist bigotry is the chief problem here. The problem was simple racism but for some it was viewed through a sectarian lens which shows that Protestants are more racist than Catholics. And there is comfort in that. That still leaves us without a clear explanation of why some people want to drive migrant neighbours from their homes. A man interviewed on the street in Portadown, after the violence had spread there, said that the town is no longer like it was forty years ago. Maybe he lives such an insular life that he hasn't noticed that nowhere is like it was forty years ago. Yes, there was a time when you didn't have to lock your front door, when you went to a neighbour to use a phone and left a few coppers on the hall table, when milk was a shilling a pint and everybody knew everybody else and everybody was white and spoke English. But that time isn't coming back for anybody. Perhaps such nostalgia does come with a genuinely felt sense of loss, a loss to be pitied and empathised with. But it's not a loss that can be eased by burning the street. Nor is it a loss likely to have been felt by the teenagers who rampaged against 'dirty foreign scum' - a remark picked up from the crowd by a BBC microphone. Nor is it a loss politicians can capitalise on, so they shouldn't try. See More: Ballymena, Northern Ireland, Racism, Riots
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Does religion hold too much or too little sway over US schools? What poll finds
As the decades-long debate over the role of religion in public school education continues to spark legislation and legal challenges in the United States, a new poll reveals the nuanced views held among the general public. Americans are largely split on what they think about religion's influence on public school curriculum, with 32% saying they think religion has too much influence and 38% saying it has too little influence, according to an AP-NORC poll published June 26. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they thought religion had 'about the right amount of influence' in public school education. The survey of 1,158 U.S. adults was taken June 5-9 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. White evangelical Christians and Catholics were more likely to say religion has too little influence on what children are taught in public schools, and those with no religious affiliation were more likely to say it has too much influence, according to the poll. Protestants were split on their views about how much sway religion has on public school curriculum, the poll found. Twenty-four percent of white mainline Protestants and 34% of nonwhite Protestants said religion had too much influence compared with 32% and 43% who said it was too little, according to the poll. Democrats, 47%, were also more likely to say religion has too much influence on public school education than Republicans, 15%, per the poll. Religion's role in education In 2025 so far, SCOTUS has heard arguments in three cases considering religion's role in education, including whether or not Oklahoma could use government funds to establish what could have been the nation's first religious charter school and if parents in Maryland could opt their kids out of lessons involving LGBTQ+ themes. When asked similar questions to those involved in the federal cases, the American public again proved to be mostly split, researchers said. Thirty-five percent of respondents favored tax-funded vouchers that would help parents pay for their kids' tuition at private or religious schools of their choice while 38% said they opposed the vouchers, according to the poll. Twenty-five percent of adults did not have a firm opinion. On the question of allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools, 23% of Americans said they were in favor, compared with 43% who said they were not in favor, the poll found. Thirty-three percent of respondents said they were neither in favor or in opposition, researchers said. The poll also asked if public schools should be required to give parents a list of books accessible to students. A majority of respondents, 51%, said they were in favor, per the poll. Prayer in schools A majority of Americans said religious chaplains should be allowed to provide support services in public schools, but said teachers leading classes in prayer and a mandatory period for private prayer and religious reading during school hours should not be allowed, the poll found. Those who are not affiliated with a religion were more likely than white evangelical Christians, nonwhite Protestants and Catholics to disapprove of religious chaplains providing counseling, teachers guiding their class in prayer and private prayer and religious reading periods during school, according to the poll. A Pew Research Center poll of 36,908 U.S. adults, taken between July 17, 2023 and March 4, 2024, found that 57% of U.S. adults said teachers should be allowed to lead their class in prayers that reference God but no specific religion, McClatchy News reported. Religion and the highest court in the land The re-energized push for religion in public schools, mostly led by Christian groups, comes as the U.S. Supreme Court maintains a conservative majority. The current members are also all religious, with six Catholics, two Protestants and one Jew making up the court, according to Gallup. A plurality of Americans, 37%, said they think religion has too much influence on SCOTUS, compared with 26% who said it has too little influence, according to the poll. Thirty-five percent of Americans said they thought religion's influence on SCOTUS was at a sweet spot, the poll found.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Majority of US adults support religious chaplains in public schools, a new AP-NORC poll shows
WASHINGTON (AP) — Few U.S. adults support allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools, but a majority favors allowing religious chaplains to provide support services for public school students, a new poll finds. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows the complexity of Americans' attitudes toward religious expression in schools, which varies depending on the kind of expression and sometimes crosses partisan lines. The findings also highlight tension points in the country's long-standing debate over the role of religion in public schools, which continues to drive legislation and legal action. Recent examples include a lawsuit against a new Arkansas measure that requires the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, a push by lawmakers in multiple states to allow religious chaplains to serve in student support roles in public schools, and the U.S. Supreme Court's 4-4 decision that blocked plans for a publicly funded Catholic charter school in Oklahoma. On some issues like teacher-led prayer, white evangelical Protestants and Black Protestants — who traditionally find themselves on opposite sides of the political aisle — are both largely supportive, dividing them from other religious groups. White evangelical Protestants are more likely than many other religious groups to say religion has 'too little' influence on what children are taught in public schools. Chaplains in schools are popular, but not teacher prayer About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say that religious chaplains should be allowed to provide support services for students in public schools, but most do not think teacher-led prayer or a mandatory period during school hours for private prayer should be allowed in public schools. Texas became the first state to allow chaplains, in 2023. After that, lawmakers in several states considered similar bills. It's illustrative of an ongoing conservative push to bring more religion into the classroom, which advocates of church-state separation are countering. Sally Hacker, 61, a Republican and nondenominational Christian from Michigan, supports having chaplains in schools. They could help students use the Bible as a moral guide, she said. 'If they have problems, these students could go and talk to these preachers and these chaplains, and maybe they could help them figure out a way to get out of those problems,' Hacker said. School chaplains are only somewhat divisive among religious Americans, although they're still opposed by a majority of nones, the term for atheists, agnostics and those with no religion in particular. But white evangelical Protestants and Black Protestants stand apart from Catholics, white mainline Protestants and nones in their support for teacher prayer and mandatory prayer periods in public schools. For public schoolteacher Cameron Thompson, 47, of Ohio, teacher-led prayer is not OK if it's part of classroom instruction, but he doesn't see an issue if teachers choose to lead students in prayer as part of an extracurricular activity, like a Fellowship of Christian Athletes event. 'As an optional activity, I feel like it is something that, yeah, it should be allowed for sure,' said Thompson, a Republican and a Lutheran. The questions exposed fault lines among partisans on both sides of the political spectrum. Democrats are firmly opposed to teacher-led prayer and mandatory school prayer periods but divided on chaplain support services in public schools, while Republicans are firmly in favor of chaplain support services and teacher-led prayer but divided on a mandatory school prayer period. Public school psychologist Gary Leu, 64, of Utah, believes adding chaplains is misguided. Leu, a Democrat, questions the motives behind it, wondering if chaplain programs are more about giving religious watchdogs access to schools or have some other agenda. He also is concerned about what, if any, professional standards and ethics the chaplains would be held to. 'I don't know what you're trying to accomplish that isn't already being accomplished,' said Leu, who is not affiliated with a particular religion but has a background in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Opposition to tax-funded religious charter schools, but more openness to vouchers Americans are more likely to oppose allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools than to favor this. About 4 in 10 are opposed, while roughly one-quarter are in favor and about one-third are neither in favor nor opposed. In general, U.S. adults are more divided on tax-funded vouchers that help parents pay for tuition for their children to attend private or religious schools of their choice instead of public schools. Similar shares oppose and favor this; about one-quarter are neutral. In May, the Supreme Court's tie decision effectively ended what would have been the nation's first religious charter school, but it left the issue unresolved nationally. There isn't majority support for allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools among any of the major religious groups analyzed, although about 4 in 10 white evangelical Protestants are in favor, compared with about 3 in 10 Catholics and Black Protestants and about 2 in 10 white mainline Protestants. Substantial shares of all of these groups neither favor nor oppose this idea. Most nones oppose allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools. Jess Tichenor, 39, of Oregon, is among the nones who strongly oppose tax-funded religious charter schools as she is wary of favoritism for Christianity. 'In an ideal situation, the publicly funded schools would be a safe place for any religion to be recognized or even practiced,' said Tichenor, who practices Buddhism. She feels similarly about school vouchers. Against the backdrop of favorable decisions by the conservative-majority Supreme Court, several states have expanded school voucher programs in recent years. Supporters say these programs help families make the best choice for their children's education. At the Republican National Convention, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called it the 'civil rights issue of our time.' Tennessee expanded its school voucher program in February. Besides discrimination concerns and church-state issues, opponents worry that school vouchers take money from public schools, which serve most U.S. students, and benefit higher-income families that already use private schools. 'If they're going to end up sending their kids to a special private school, they need to fund that out of their own pocket,' said Hacker, the nondenominational Christian from Michigan. Other views on religion and public schools __ About 3 in 10 U.S. adults say religion has 'too much' influence on what children are taught in public school. About two-thirds of white evangelical Protestants say religion has 'too little' influence. __ About half of Americans favor requiring public schools to provide parents with lists of books that are available to students, while about one-third neither favor nor oppose this and 14% are opposed. __ Nearly half, 45%, of U.S. adults oppose religious exemptions for childhood vaccines that are required for students attending public schools, while roughly one-quarter are in favor and about 3 in 10 are neutral. __ Most adults say freedom of religion and church-state separation are 'extremely' or 'very' important to the United States' identity as a nation, but 81% say religious freedom is important, compared with 64% who say this about separation of church and state. ___ Meyer reported from Nashville, Tenn. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. The AP-NORC poll of 1,158 adults was conducted June 5-9, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Majority of US adults support religious chaplains in public schools, a new AP-NORC poll shows
WASHINGTON (AP) — Few U.S. adults support allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools, but a majority favors allowing religious chaplains to provide support services for public school students, a new poll finds. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows the complexity of Americans' attitudes toward religious expression in schools, which varies depending on the kind of expression and sometimes crosses partisan lines. The findings also highlight tension points in the country's long-standing debate over the role of religion in public schools, which continues to drive legislation and legal action . Recent examples include a lawsuit against a new Arkansas measure that requires the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, a push by lawmakers in multiple states to allow religious chaplains to serve in student support roles in public schools, and the U.S. Supreme Court's 4-4 decision that blocked plans for a publicly funded Catholic charter school in Oklahoma. On some issues like teacher-led prayer, white evangelical Protestants and Black Protestants — who traditionally find themselves on opposite sides of the political aisle — are both largely supportive, dividing them from other religious groups. White evangelical Protestants are more likely than many other religious groups to say religion has 'too little' influence on what children are taught in public schools. Chaplains in schools are popular, but not teacher prayer About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say that religious chaplains should be allowed to provide support services for students in public schools, but most do not think teacher-led prayer or a mandatory period during school hours for private prayer should be allowed in public schools. Texas became the first state to allow chaplains, in 2023. After that, lawmakers in several states considered similar bills. It's illustrative of an ongoing conservative push to bring more religion into the classroom, which advocates of church-state separation are countering. Sally Hacker, 61, a Republican and nondenominational Christian from Michigan, supports having chaplains in schools. They could help students use the Bible as a moral guide, she said. 'If they have problems, these students could go and talk to these preachers and these chaplains, and maybe they could help them figure out a way to get out of those problems,' Hacker said. School chaplains are only somewhat divisive among religious Americans, although they're still opposed by a majority of nones, the term for atheists, agnostics and those with no religion in particular. But white evangelical Protestants and Black Protestants stand apart from Catholics, white mainline Protestants and nones in their support for teacher prayer and mandatory prayer periods in public schools. For public schoolteacher Cameron Thompson, 47, of Ohio, teacher-led prayer is not OK if it's part of classroom instruction, but he doesn't see an issue if teachers choose to lead students in prayer as part of an extracurricular activity, like a Fellowship of Christian Athletes event. 'As an optional activity, I feel like it is something that, yeah, it should be allowed for sure,' said Thompson, a Republican and a Lutheran. The questions exposed fault lines among partisans on both sides of the political spectrum. Democrats are firmly opposed to teacher-led prayer and mandatory school prayer periods but divided on chaplain support services in public schools, while Republicans are firmly in favor of chaplain support services and teacher-led prayer but divided on a mandatory school prayer period. Public school psychologist Gary Leu, 64, of Utah, believes adding chaplains is misguided. Leu, a Democrat, questions the motives behind it, wondering if chaplain programs are more about giving religious watchdogs access to schools or have some other agenda. He also is concerned about what, if any, professional standards and ethics the chaplains would be held to. 'I don't know what you're trying to accomplish that isn't already being accomplished,' said Leu, who is not affiliated with a particular religion but has a background in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Opposition to tax-funded religious charter schools, but more openness to vouchers Americans are more likely to oppose allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools than to favor this. About 4 in 10 are opposed, while roughly one-quarter are in favor and about one-third are neither in favor nor opposed. In general, U.S. adults are more divided on tax-funded vouchers that help parents pay for tuition for their children to attend private or religious schools of their choice instead of public schools. Similar shares oppose and favor this; about one-quarter are neutral. In May, the Supreme Court's tie decision effectively ended what would have been the nation's first religious charter school , but it left the issue unresolved nationally. There isn't majority support for allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools among any of the major religious groups analyzed, although about 4 in 10 white evangelical Protestants are in favor, compared with about 3 in 10 Catholics and Black Protestants and about 2 in 10 white mainline Protestants. Substantial shares of all of these groups neither favor nor oppose this idea. Most nones oppose allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools. Jess Tichenor, 39, of Oregon, is among the nones who strongly oppose tax-funded religious charter schools as she is wary of favoritism for Christianity. 'In an ideal situation, the publicly funded schools would be a safe place for any religion to be recognized or even practiced,' said Tichenor, who practices Buddhism. She feels similarly about school vouchers. Against the backdrop of favorable decisions by the conservative-majority Supreme Court, several states have expanded school voucher programs in recent years. Supporters say these programs help families make the best choice for their children's education. At the Republican National Convention, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called it the 'civil rights issue of our time.' Tennessee expanded its school voucher program in February. Besides discrimination concerns and church-state issues, opponents worry that school vouchers take money from public schools, which serve most U.S. students, and benefit higher-income families that already use private schools. 'If they're going to end up sending their kids to a special private school, they need to fund that out of their own pocket,' said Hacker, the nondenominational Christian from Michigan. Other views on religion and public schools __ About 3 in 10 U.S. adults say religion has 'too much' influence on what children are taught in public school. About two-thirds of white evangelical Protestants say religion has 'too little' influence. __ About half of Americans favor requiring public schools to provide parents with lists of books that are available to students, while about one-third neither favor nor oppose this and 14% are opposed. __ Nearly half, 45%, of U.S. adults oppose religious exemptions for childhood vaccines that are required for students attending public schools, while roughly one-quarter are in favor and about 3 in 10 are neutral. __ Most adults say freedom of religion and church-state separation are 'extremely' or 'very' important to the United States' identity as a nation, but 81% say religious freedom is important, compared with 64% who say this about separation of church and state. ___ Meyer reported from Nashville, Tenn. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. The AP-NORC poll of 1,158 adults was conducted June 5-9, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage points. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Majority of US adults support religious chaplains in public schools, a new AP-NORC poll shows
WASHINGTON (AP) — Few U.S. adults support allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools, but a majority favors allowing religious chaplains to provide support services for public school students, a new poll finds. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows the complexity of Americans' attitudes toward religious expression in schools, which varies depending on the kind of expression and sometimes crosses partisan lines. The findings also highlight tension points in the country's long-standing debate over the role of religion in public schools, which continues to drive legislation and legal action. Recent examples include a lawsuit against a new Arkansas measure that requires the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, a push by lawmakers in multiple states to allow religious chaplains to serve in student support roles in public schools, and the U.S. Supreme Court's 4-4 decision that blocked plans for a publicly funded Catholic charter school in Oklahoma. On some issues like teacher-led prayer, white evangelical Protestants and Black Protestants — who traditionally find themselves on opposite sides of the political aisle — are both largely supportive, dividing them from other religious groups. White evangelical Protestants are more likely than many other religious groups to say religion has 'too little' influence on what children are taught in public schools. Chaplains in schools are popular, but not teacher prayer About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say that religious chaplains should be allowed to provide support services for students in public schools, but most do not think teacher-led prayer or a mandatory period during school hours for private prayer should be allowed in public schools. Texas became the first state to allow chaplains, in 2023. After that, lawmakers in several states considered similar bills. It's illustrative of an ongoing conservative push to bring more religion into the classroom, which advocates of church-state separation are countering. Sally Hacker, 61, a Republican and nondenominational Christian from Michigan, supports having chaplains in schools. They could help students use the Bible as a moral guide, she said. 'If they have problems, these students could go and talk to these preachers and these chaplains, and maybe they could help them figure out a way to get out of those problems,' Hacker said. School chaplains are only somewhat divisive among religious Americans, although they're still opposed by a majority of nones, the term for atheists, agnostics and those with no religion in particular. But white evangelical Protestants and Black Protestants stand apart from Catholics, white mainline Protestants and nones in their support for teacher prayer and mandatory prayer periods in public schools. For public schoolteacher Cameron Thompson, 47, of Ohio, teacher-led prayer is not OK if it's part of classroom instruction, but he doesn't see an issue if teachers choose to lead students in prayer as part of an extracurricular activity, like a Fellowship of Christian Athletes event. 'As an optional activity, I feel like it is something that, yeah, it should be allowed for sure,' said Thompson, a Republican and a Lutheran. The questions exposed fault lines among partisans on both sides of the political spectrum. Democrats are firmly opposed to teacher-led prayer and mandatory school prayer periods but divided on chaplain support services in public schools, while Republicans are firmly in favor of chaplain support services and teacher-led prayer but divided on a mandatory school prayer period. Public school psychologist Gary Leu, 64, of Utah, believes adding chaplains is misguided. Leu, a Democrat, questions the motives behind it, wondering if chaplain programs are more about giving religious watchdogs access to schools or have some other agenda. He also is concerned about what, if any, professional standards and ethics the chaplains would be held to. 'I don't know what you're trying to accomplish that isn't already being accomplished,' said Leu, who is not affiliated with a particular religion but has a background in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Opposition to tax-funded religious charter schools, but more openness to vouchers Americans are more likely to oppose allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools than to favor this. About 4 in 10 are opposed, while roughly one-quarter are in favor and about one-third are neither in favor nor opposed. In general, U.S. adults are more divided on tax-funded vouchers that help parents pay for tuition for their children to attend private or religious schools of their choice instead of public schools. Similar shares oppose and favor this; about one-quarter are neutral. In May, the Supreme Court's tie decision effectively ended what would have been the nation's first religious charter school, but it left the issue unresolved nationally. There isn't majority support for allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools among any of the major religious groups analyzed, although about 4 in 10 white evangelical Protestants are in favor, compared with about 3 in 10 Catholics and Black Protestants and about 2 in 10 white mainline Protestants. Substantial shares of all of these groups neither favor nor oppose this idea. Most nones oppose allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools. Jess Tichenor, 39, of Oregon, is among the nones who strongly oppose tax-funded religious charter schools as she is wary of favoritism for Christianity. 'In an ideal situation, the publicly funded schools would be a safe place for any religion to be recognized or even practiced,' said Tichenor, who practices Buddhism. She feels similarly about school vouchers. Against the backdrop of favorable decisions by the conservative-majority Supreme Court, several states have expanded school voucher programs in recent years. Supporters say these programs help families make the best choice for their children's education. At the Republican National Convention, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called it the 'civil rights issue of our time.' Tennessee expanded its school voucher program in February. Besides discrimination concerns and church-state issues, opponents worry that school vouchers take money from public schools, which serve most U.S. students, and benefit higher-income families that already use private schools. 'If they're going to end up sending their kids to a special private school, they need to fund that out of their own pocket,' said Hacker, the nondenominational Christian from Michigan. Other views on religion and public schools __ About 3 in 10 U.S. adults say religion has 'too much' influence on what children are taught in public school. About two-thirds of white evangelical Protestants say religion has 'too little' influence. __ About half of Americans favor requiring public schools to provide parents with lists of books that are available to students, while about one-third neither favor nor oppose this and 14% are opposed. __ Nearly half, 45%, of U.S. adults oppose religious exemptions for childhood vaccines that are required for students attending public schools, while roughly one-quarter are in favor and about 3 in 10 are neutral. __ Most adults say freedom of religion and church-state separation are 'extremely' or 'very' important to the United States' identity as a nation, but 81% say religious freedom is important, compared with 64% who say this about separation of church and state. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. ___ Meyer reported from Nashville, Tenn. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. The AP-NORC poll of 1,158 adults was conducted June 5-9, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
