03/15/2012 United States (Christian Post) - According to a new poll, a majority of Americans do not believe religious liberty is under attack, and only six percent of those who do feel religious liberty is being threatened blamed the recent debate over contraception coverage.
The poll, conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, found that 56 percent of respondents did not feel religious liberty was threatened, while 39 percent of respondents felt their religious liberty was threatened.
When the responses were broken down by political beliefs, 72 percent of Tea Partiers and 60 percent of Republicans said they felt their religious liberty was threatened, while 69 percent of Democrats and 59 percent of independents disagreed.
The polls were also split by age group, with 56 percent of seniors saying religious liberty was threatened and 73 percent of Millennials saying it was fine.
Religious groups, however, were fairly consistent in their belief that religious liberty was safe.
According to PRRI CEO Dr. Robert P. Jones, "Nearly 6-in-10 Catholics do not believe that religious liberty is being threatened. The only religious group in which a majority believes religious liberty is being threatened in America today is evangelicals."
For those who did feel American religious liberty was threatened, the pollsters also asked what current events they saw as most threatening. Of those responding, 23 percent saw the removal of religion from the public square as the primary threat to religious liberty, while 20 percent credited "general governmental interference with religion."
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