Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.

By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged

80%: Eight out of 10 U.S. adults agree “religion’s role in American life is shrinking — a percentage that’s as high as it’s ever been in our surveys.”

That’s the big takeaway from a new Pew Research Center report.

Two decades ago, “only 52% responded that religion’s influence in the U.S. had waned,” ReligionUnplugged.com’s own Clemente Lisi notes.

49%: That’s the proportion of those surveyed who “say both that religion is losing influence and that this is a bad thing,” Pew reports.

Religion News Service’s Jack Jenkins interviews Greg Smith, Pew’s associate director of research, about the findings.

“We see signs of sort of a growing disconnect between people’s own religious beliefs and their perceptions about the broader culture,” Smith tells RNS.

57%: That clear majority of Americans “express a positive view of religion’s influence on American life.”

“What’s more, 94% said it is ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ important for a president to live a moral and ethical life, and 64% said it is important for a president to stand up for individuals’ religious beliefs,” the Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner explains.

“Additionally, 48% said it is important for a president to hold ‘strong religious beliefs,’” Kellner adds, “and 37% said it is important for a president to hold the same religious beliefs as their own.”

8%: That’s the tiny percentage of White evangelicals who told Pew they have a “favorable” view of Christian nationalism.

“(M)ost white evangelicals want a president who reflects their religious beliefs, believe the Bible should have some influence on US laws, and see the retreat of religion as a bad thing,” Christianity Today’s Harvest Prude writes. “Yet they oppose adopting Christianity as an official religion.”

Read the full column.

This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.

Shutterstock photo