More U.S. adults favor adding new churches than those who say the same about mosques, according to a YouGov report published December 1.
The survey polled 1,000 adults about their views of 30 hypothetical development projects, with half of the respondents asked about “a new ___ in your local area” and the other half about “more ___ in this country.” There were 38 entities or projects surveyed, which included playgrounds, hospitals, homeless shelters, wind farms, bike lanes, gun ranges, shopping malls, golf courses, casinos, prisons and more.
At the national level, single-family housing and playgrounds had the most support, with 90% of respondents saying they would like to see more of both built in the U.S. By comparison, hospitals, libraries and public parks all received 89% support, with 14 of the 38 entities having 80% or more of respondents say they’d like to see more of them in the nation.
At the local level, playgrounds and public parks had the highest levels of support at 86% for both, followed by senior living facilities and grocery stores (both at 84%). Six of the 38 entities had 80% or more of respondents say they’d like more in their local community.
Churches and mosques were the only faith-based entities included in the survey, with national support for more churches at 68% (ranking 20 out of 38) and for more mosques at 49% (28 out of 38). Support for more churches in respondents’ communities was 67% (tied for 12th with public restrooms and fast-food restaurants), while local support for mosques was 52% (20 out of 38).
Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say they support more churches at both the national (88% to 59%, respectively) and the local (83% to 71%, respectively) level. Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say they support more mosques at both the national (65% to 28%, respectively) and the local (66% to 37%, respectively) level.
Respondents ages 18 to 29 and those 65-plus had lower levels of support for more mosques nationally (43% and 42%, respectively) than those ages 45 to 64 (51%) or ages 30 to 44 (61%) support. At the local level, 18-to-29-year-olds (40%) were far less likely to support new mosques than 45-to-64-year-olds (51%), 65 and older (55%) or 30-to-44-year-olds (62%).
Respondents ages 45 to 64 (63%) were less likely to support more churches in the U.S. than those ages 18 to 29 (68%), ages 30 to 44 (71%) or ages 65 and older (72%), while respondents ages 30 to 44 (73%) and ages 65-plus (73%) were more likely than those ages 45 to 64 (69%) and ages 18 to 29 (52%) to support new churches in their community.
The full report is available here. The topline results, noting a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points, are available here. The tables are available here.
Managing editor for news and opinion at Good Faith Media.
