Chip Rotolo

Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society and sports Today, 43% of U.S. adults say the fact that sports betting is now legal in much of the country is a bad thing for society, up from 34% in 2022.

% of US men under 30 who say legal sports betting is a *bad thing* for society

22% in 2022
47% in 2025

No other demographic group has seen a bigger increase.

Most and least religious U.S. states Explore our interactive database to find how religious adults are in your state based on service attendance, prayer, belief in God, and importance of religion.

How religious is each state?

bit.ly/46mkTwp

Today's youngest adults (born between 2000-06, ages 18-24) are among the least likely to regularly attend religious services, to be members of religious congregations, to have been raised religiously, to say religion is important, and to say they've become more religious over time.

% considered "highly religious," by decade born

From @pewresearch.org 's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS)

40s or earlier: 45%
50s: 38%
60s: 34%
70s: 32%
80s: 24%
90s: 22%
00s (2000-06): 19%

One other data point that may be helpful: At the national level, 30% fall in the "highly religious" category. So you can think about the state percentages relative to the national average.

The index is also slightly more complicated than how the 4 other measures are displayed. For example, it considers not just whether people say they believe in God or a universal spirit, but also *how certain* they are in that belief.

@shablopligh.bsky.social, Great question, and I've included how the overall religiousness score was calculated.

Because overall religiousness is based on several measures, the share in the "highly religious" category can be lower when respondents score high on 1 or a few measures and low on others.

Most American Christians say that “good Christians” do not need to take a particular view on Trump:

- 80% say good Christians can disagree about Trump
- 11% say opposing Trump is essential to being a good Christian.
- 7% say supporting Trump is essential to being a good Christian

Most and least religious U.S. states Explore our interactive database to find how religious adults are in your state based on service attendance, prayer, belief in God, and importance of religion.

Been working with colleagues on this interactive piece for several months. Ranks all 50 states+DC on key measures of religiousness.

I love tools like this that allow us to see how the contexts we are most familiar with might differ from others.Gives perspective.

www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

86% of U.S. adults say they were raised in a religious household.

Source: @pewresearch.org 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS)

😂 Wow! That is something. We do have a lantern fly problem, and it’s on sale 🤔

A bar chart with the four most recent Popes showing that favorable views of Pope Leo are on par with early ratings of Pope Francis

📊 84% of U.S. Catholics view #PopeLeoXIV favorably. This is on par with early ratings of Pope Francis. 🧵👇

& full analysis here: www.pewresearch.org/...

Chased a black fly around my home office until I was able to swat it with a copy of Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.

Then thought about the beautiful story she could have written about it.

Most Americans Don’t Believe God Played a Role in Recent Presidential Election Outcomes Few Americans say God chose Donald Trump for his policies, though 32% say his election was part of God’s plan.

Did God influence the 2024 Presidential election? Most Americans don't think so

About half of Republicans say God played some role in Trump's 2024 election. About half of Republicans also say this about Biden's 2020 election.

About a quarter of Democrats say God played some role in Biden's 2020 election. About a quarter of Democrats also say this about Trump's 2024 election.

Most Americans Don’t Believe God Played a Role in Recent Presidential Election Outcomes Few Americans say God chose Donald Trump for his policies, though 32% say his election was part of God’s plan.

Full report: pewrsr.ch/4pgj6BT

A majority of Americans say religion plays a relatively small role or none at all in their vote:

- 56% say religion shapes how they vote a little or not at all.
- 18% say religion shapes how they vote some.
-25% say religion shapes how they vote a great deal or quite a bit.

Most American Christians say that “good Christians” do not need to take a particular view on Trump:

- 80% say good Christians can disagree about Trump
- 11% say opposing Trump is essential to being a good Christian.
- 7% say supporting Trump is essential to being a good Christian

What role do Americans think God played in the last two presidential elections?

Most say God played no role at all, and few say God chose the winners because of their policies.

Most Americans Don’t Believe God Played a Role in Recent Presidential Election Outcomes Few Americans say God chose Donald Trump for his policies, though 32% say his election was part of God’s plan.

New from @pewresearch.org
Most Americans Don’t Believe God Played a Role in Recent Presidential Election Outcomes

pewrsr.ch/4pgj6BT

In an experiment, Pew Research Center demonstrated that opt-in and probability-based surveys produced very different results about young adults' views of the Holocaust and abortion.

Remember, if you encounter what seems like an implausible survey finding, ask:
1. Were survey respondents selected randomly or was this an opt-in poll?
2. Could the results, especially for young adults, be driven by bogus respondents?

Keep this post in mind: www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/... 🧪

Support for Christian prayer in U.S. public schools varies widely by state Just over half of U.S. adults (52%) say they favor allowing public school teachers to lead their classes in prayers that refer to Jesus.

Today, Americans are deeply split on the question of whether to allow Christian prayer in school.

And support for allowing teacher-led Christian prayer varies widely by state.

See how all 50 states + DC compare here: pewrsr.ch/4k1vvpe

Trump's Tariffs and 'One Big Beautiful Bill' Face More Opposition Than Support as His Job Rating Slips Six months into his term, far more say President Trump is making the way the federal government works worse than making it better.

Main report: pewrsr.ch/3JjmXgR

August Trump Job Approval, among major U.S. religious groups

70% White evangelical Protestants
51% White nonevangelical Protestants
48% White Catholics
25% Hispanic Catholics
24% Religiously unaffiliated
16% Black Protestants

From @pewresearch.org survey conducted Aug. 4-10, 2025

Core measures of religiousness, by decade born

From @pewresearch.org's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study

Read more: pewrsr.ch/3EXnfrS

% of Americans who identify as atheist in @pewresearch.org ‘s 3 Religious Landscape Studies:

2007: 2%
2014: 3%
2023-24: 5%

Bar chart showing that in a 2022 Pew Research Center survey, 77% of U.S. adults said churches and other houses of worship should not come out in favor of one political candidate over another.

With the IRS planning to let churches endorse political candidates, past surveys show that a majority of Americans oppose the idea. In 2022, 77% of US adults – including 84% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans – said churches shouldn't endorse candidates. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Chart that shows that most often, Americans who hit paywalls first try to find the info elsewhere

Most Americans (74%) say they at least sometimes come across paywalls when trying to access an article. Of those who ever encounter paywalls, 53% say the first thing they typically do is try to find the information somewhere else.

NEW: After each U.S. election, we match respondents from our nationally representative American Trends panel to official state voting records to verify who actually turned out to vote (or didn’t) to produce a comprehensive analysis of precisely who voted and how they voted. A few key points (🧵👇):

Behind Trump’s 2024 Victory, a More Racially and Ethnically Diverse Voter Coalition Pew Research Center’s in-depth study of its survey respondents who voted in the 2024 election examines turnout, voting patterns and demographics.

NEW from @pewresearch.org :

a detailed look at the 2024 election -- turnout, voting patterns among subgroups and a lot more

pewrsr.ch/441YqFh