Survey: Does America want prayer and the Ten Commandments in schools?

Americans are more likely than not to favor religious expression in public schools, though most agree participation should be voluntary, a national survey has found.

The results of the survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C., show about six in 10 Americans support allowing teacher-led school prayer in some form, while half favor displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. Such sentiments are more likely to be held by Republicans, people over 50 years old and residents of the U.S. South and Midwest, the center said.

"Religion has been and still is a vital part of American life, and religious diversity has been a gift to the country since its earliest days," said Mary Ellen Giess, managing director of Interfaith America, a Chicago-based organization promoting American pluralism. "The issue is not whether religion has a place in our shared public spaces like schools, but rather whether all forms of religious and nonreligious expression are equally celebrated."

The results come as some states around the U.S. pass or propose Christian-promoted legislation requiring the Biblical directives be posted in public-school classrooms.

In April, a divided Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a disputed Texas law mandating public school districts display the Ten Commandments in classrooms, portending a potential Supreme Court fight. Parents and civil rights organizations had sued the state over the law, claiming it violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause by forcing religious messaging into public schools.

Other states including Louisiana and Arkansas have passed similar legislation, while Texas also passed a law in June 2025 requiring school boards to approve or decline an option to institute daily prayer time.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Education updated its federal guidelines on constitutionally protected prayer and religious expression in public elementary and secondary schools, permitting students and faculty to express their faith on school grounds as long as the school plays no role, no religion is favored over another and involvement is unforced.

The Pew survey found religiously unaffiliated Americans – those who identify as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular – were least likely to support religious expression in public schools, with 59% saying teachers should not be allowed to lead students in prayer at all.

Nearly half (46%) of all Americans said they favored teacher-led prayer in public schools, with 53% opposed ― a 7% increase compared to 2021, when 46% said they were against teacher-led prayer of any kind.

Those who did were asked whether participation should be required, while those who opposed it were asked whether it should be allowed only if participation was voluntary. Just 8% of respondents said participation in teacher-led prayer should be mandatory, with the share highest among Black Protestants (23%) and residents of the U.S. South (11%).

Meanwhile, 53% of Americans said they favored teacher-led prayer only if students could choose whether to participate, with the portion highest among White evangelicals (80%) and Republicans (69%).

"The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized the importance of neutrality in navigating issues of religion," Giess said. "Our public institutions can neither promote nor inhibit particular religious viewpoints — and Americans overwhelmingly agree."

A majority of Americans in both political parties, all major geographic regions and most of the country’s large religious groups approve of public-school students voluntarily praying in student-led groups, including 64% of religiously unaffiliated Americans.

Overall, nearly four in five (80%) of U.S. adults said they favored students participating in voluntary, student-led prayer. The groups with the largest share of respondents opposing the practice were the religiously unaffiliated (36%), Democrats (30%) and residents of the Western U.S. (26%).

Strong majorities of Republicans support coach-led prayer and displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, while most Democrats oppose such religious expression.

Overall, half of Americans (50%) support displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms, including 83% of White evangelicals and 72% of Republicans. Roughly three-fourths of the religiously unaffiliated (74%) and about seven in 10 Democrats (69%) were opposed.

Likewise, while 57% of overall respondents say coaches should be allowed to lead their teams in prayer, approval was highest among White evangelicals (89%) and Republicans (77%) and lowest among the religiously unaffiliated (28%) and Democrats (38%).

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court backed a high school football coach in Bremerton, Washington, who was placed on administrative leave in 2015 after conducting postgame prayers at midfield that some players complained felt compulsory. While the coach was reinstated, he ultimately resigned the following season after one game.

Contributing: Aaron Martinez, USA TODAY Network-El Paso