Do Americans Want Prayer in Public Schools? Survey Reveals…

Published: June 27, 2025

ruben-rodriguez-IXTvnOOSTyU-unsplash — Photo by Ruben Rodriguez via Unsplash

By Kayla DeKraker

Do Americans want prayer and Christian influences in public schools? It depends who you ask.

Pew Research asked over 37,000 participants nationwide to detail their thoughts on incorporating biblical principals in schools. The results revealed that 52% of people would like it if teachers led prayer before class, while 46% oppose the idea.

Many southern states were in favor. Pew research said, “Support for Christian prayer in schools is particularly high in parts of the South, including Mississippi (81%), Alabama (75%), Arkansas (75%), Louisiana (74%) and South Carolina (71%).”

The group also noted that “Oklahoma, Kentucky and West Virginia, are also among the states with the most support of Christian prayer in schools (67% in each state favor it).”

While most Midwest states also supported the idea, the West Coast and Northeast states opposed it.

“In 12 states and the District of Columbia, more adults say they oppose allowing teachers to lead their classes in prayers that refer to Jesus than say they favor it,” the report reads.

Oregon, Washington and California were among the opposing western states, while Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey made up the opposing northeastern states.

In the study, Pew also noted that “a slightly larger share of Americans say they favor allowing teacher-led prayers referencing God (57%) than favor allowing teacher-led prayers specifically referencing Jesus (52%).”

Feelings about allowing Christianity in schools go deeper than prayer.

Currently, Texas is in a legal battle about if the Ten Commandments can be posted in public school classrooms. A law allowing the Commandments went into effect June 21, but a recent lawsuit was filed, claiming that this goes against the separation of church and state. The lawsuit reads, “The government should govern; the Church should minister. Anything else is a threat to the soul of both our democracy and our faith.”

This isn’t the first-time people have tried to bring biblical principles into classrooms. Recently Louisiana lost a battle attempting to do the same thing.

However, Texas Governor Greg Abbott believes that the state will be successful against the lawsuit. In a post to X, he said, “Signed a law to put the Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms. Faith and freedom are the foundation of our nation. If anyone sues, we’ll win that battle. Just like when I defended the Ten Commandments Monument on Texas Capitol grounds at SCOTUS.”