A slim majority of Americans support teacher-led prayers that refer to Jesus in public schools, according to a new Pew Research Center study. The survey interviewed around 37,000 US adults for the 2023 to 2024 Religious Landscape study and found varying support for such prayers dependent on state. Support was highest in southern states, with Mississippi showing the highest support (81%), followed by Alabama (75%), and Arkansas (75%). Several midwestern states also showed higher support, such as South Dakota (65%), North Dakota (61%), and Indiana (58%). Nearly half (22 states) of all 50 states have more support for teacher-led prayer than opposition.

The majority of adults in 12 states opposed explicitly Christian prayer. Washington, D.C. had the highest opposition to teacher-led prayer in school (69%). Opposition remained highest amongst East and West coast states such as Vermont (64%), Oregon (65%), and Washington (61%). Support for a generic prayer that referred to God but not specifically Jesus or another religion was slightly higher overall, with 57% supporting, but the break down of support amongst states was fairly similar, with D.C.’s opposition decreasing to 60%. Sixteen states remained evenly divided over the issue.

Pew noted the relevancy of the topic in the current legal battles arising throughout the country. “Renewed debates are happening across the United States about the place of religion – especially Christianity – in public schools. An evenly divided Supreme Court recently upheld a ban on what would have been the nation’s first religious public charter school, in Oklahoma,” it noted. The study was also concluded before Texas governor Greg Abbott signed a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in public school classrooms. “And legal battles persist over prayer at school sporting events and making time for prayer during the school day,” the study added. The recent Kennedy decision upheld a coach’s post-game prayer stating it was after

The CATO Institute noted that the results may indicate a growing conservative majority in the United States. “First, [the study] should drive home for progressives what conservatives have long tended to embrace: the need for school choice. Money should follow children to chosen educational arrangements rather than the government collecting tax dollars and sending them to its own schools… Second, federalism is helpful… support for teacher-led Christian prayer in public schools varies substantially by state, with 81 percent of Mississippians supporting it on the high end and only 32 percent supportive in low-end Vermont.” The Institute concluded that “more freedom is best for everyone.”