Even though the US Constitution makes no mention of Christianity or Jesus Christ, a new study from Pew Research shows that nearly half of Americans believe US law should be guided by the Bible.
A whopping 49% of Americans believe that the Bible should have at least “some” influence on the law. And a quarter of Americans (23%) are willing to take that a step farther - they say the Bible should have “a great deal” of influence on the law.
Unsurprisingly, the results are split down religious lines. 68% of Christians of all denominations agree that the Bible should have at least some influence in US lawmaking. Meanwhile, only 4% of atheists say the same.
Survey respondents were also asked about what should take precedence when the Bible and the will of the people conflict? Over one-quarter of Americans believe that the Bible should hold greater sway in US lawmaking than the will of its own people.
The Divide is Political
The split in favor of biblical values influencing US law was also, unsurprisingly, split along political lines. 67% of Republicans are in favor of at least some biblical influence, with only one-third of Democrats in favor of the same.
It’s entirely possible if not likely that respondents had ‘biblical (or conventional) marriage’ in mind when answering the survey questions. That is defined by many Christian leaders as the marriage between a man and a woman. According to Pew Research, over 50% of Protestants continue to oppose same-sex marriage, despite its legality nationwide. Some states have been trying to hamstring the rights of gay couples to do everything from adopt children to ordering wedding supplies, using religious belief as their basis.
This really shouldn’t come as a surprise, though. Creationist groups have been trying to scrub things they oppose - abortion, same-sex marriage, evolution, comprehensive sex-education - from the public sphere for decades. Take, for example, the evangelical groups who opposed Washington State’s latest sex education bill, which the evangelical group My Faith Votes opposed because “students will be taught that homosexual sex is just as normal and good as heterosexual sex.”
Or, as another example, an Ohio bill that would let students give incorrect test answers, so long as they’re religious.
That’s not to mention the religious right’s well-documented and longstanding attempts to make abortion illegal, using their biblical values as their foundation.
Does God Play Politics?
All of a sudden, many Christians’ insistence on putting God in secular spaces makes a whole lot more sense when we consider that over half of them believe their specific holy book should hold sway over a secular nation.
And even as America’s fastest growing religion becomes “none”, evangelical Christians are doing everything but losing ground. Although the percentage of evangelicals in America has gone down in recent years, the number has gone up. And many evangelical leaders have become staunch allies to President Trump, who has in-turn pushed legislation the evangelical community supports.
What do you think? Does God play politics? Should the Bible influence our laws, even though the Constitution - the highest law in the land - explicitly forbids the establishment of a state religion, and makes no mention of Christianity?
Should biblical values really override the will of the people?
55 comments
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Dan Anderson
My gosh, no! The following are a few subjects taught in the Bible (no, not the Qur'an) which I find horrible and should NEVER be in our laws.
• Killing unruly children. • Killing anyone who even does as little as pick up twigs to start a fire for a daily meal on the Sabbath. • Killing anyone who becomes an apostate. • Slaughtering entire civilizations including killing all the cattle, saving the virgin daughters for your sex slaves.
There are MANY MORE issues in that same genre which I find would be horrible for this or any other society. Personally, I think a Shinto, Taoist, Confucianist, or Buddhist based society would be far more beneficial to all life, not just humanity.
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Daniel Gray
US Supreme Court just slapped the Islamic faith upside the head. They ruled that if you cant teach Christianity in school then you cannot teach Islamic religion or any other religion in school. And no all the schools that set aside a "prayer room" for the members of the Islamic faith in public schools now have to take them down and reuse the room for something else. Public schools in America can teach about religion, but they can’t preach about religion or any one specific religion. For example they cannot demand that you follow the teachings of Buddhism any more then they can demand you follow the Bible or the Koran. Its not that hard, if the ruling from the court about prayer in school is followed to its logical end, that means no prayer for ANY religion on school property during school time. Granted I know its going to tick off some people here but tough too bad.
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Wayward73
Well said. I couldn't agree more.
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Lionheart
Who is to decide which values are worth following in the Bible? OT values? NT values? Observing Stoning people to death? Observing slavery? And why just the Bible?
I personally think we are good with what we have without having to observe folktale values written by people decades after supposed events took place.
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Chaplain Shawn
Does God play politics? The answer is a definite no. However, God established authority on earth. Man corrupted that authority. Should the Bible influence our laws, even though the Constitution - the highest law in the land - explicitly forbids the establishment of a state religion, and makes no mention of Christianity? Every American should know and understand two documents: (1) The Declaration of Independence, and (2) The US Constitution. The Declaration of Independence mentions God as the Creator, the Divine, and the Sovereign ruler. It was a combination of what democracy meant in that time and biblical principles that make The Declaration of Independence worth the read, especially when our founding fathers expressly wrote a list of charges King George was guilty of. The US Constitution kept on those same lines, but did not want the US to establish a government backed religion. Islam is a religion with its own law called shariah. Therefore, Islam is a theocracy.
Henry the VIII wanted a divorce. History indicates he created The Church of England to get a divorce, and that church later persecuted people who wanted to practice a different denomination. Hence, individuals fled England and colonized America. History establishes these events as facts. These events took place in the past, and are not disputed.
What is disputed is: (1) the Bible did not establish or condone slavery. Among the Israelites there was a release of debts and slaves every 7 years. The slaves would return to their families. Known as the Lord's release. Every 50 years was a year of Jubilee. The 49th year was tthe seventh of 7 years (7*7=49), and slaves returned to their families the 49th year and the 50th year. Now if an Israelite slave wanted to stay or remain, it was the slave's choice. God's plan was to absolve poverty and slavery among the Israelite, and to remove them from the practices of the world. It is true in the ancient world that slaves were captured by the victorious army and taken back as property. However, the practice of slavery predates the earliest Macedonia civilization. The Egyptians condoned and practiced slavery. It is safe to assume that Gobekli Tepe (10,000 BCE) practiced slavery as well, especially when you consider the megalithic buildings. Slavery was the humanity's answer to flaunting the greed of a ruler by the use of exploited free labor.
The punishment of stoning seems to be common in ancient times. The Israelites were within that historical era, and mimicked the world. The Israelites also refused to follow God all through the Old Testament breaking one covenant after another with God. People today are the same. Some folks do not want God anywhere in their life, However, Islam is one religion that will take slaves, force young virgin girls into the sex slave trade, perform human trafficking, kill the kafirs or infidels (those who do not believe in Islam) and apostates. Islam might hold to the traditional stoning, but beheading is their norm. It creates the most shock value. It is not written anywhere that God appeared and stoned someone in the Old or New Testaments. However, the Pharisees wanted Jesus to participate in the stoning of a prostitute named Mary Magdalene. Jesus represents God incarnate, and said he who is without sin can cast the first stone. If memory serves me correctly, Jesus dropped his stone. Looks like God (the Christian and Jewish God) did not approve of stoning people. New Testament values would clearly be the values to follow. The New Covenant replaces and supersedes all others. Stewart correctly quoted the totality of the law to love your neighbor as yourself, but forgot the first part. To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.
Lastly, should biblical values really override the will of the people? Yes. Why? First read how deprave Paul saw humanity living in the flesh or world in Galatians 5. Paul also points out the fruit of the Spirit, and if people were in the Spirit the world would be more faithful, gentle, good, joyful, kind, loving, patient, peaceful, and have more self-control. I think those positive values would change the world for the better, but they will not put money in your purses or wallets. The fruit of the Spirit remind us there is more to this world than us, and the world does not revolve around one person. When we stop following and worshipping money and those with the most, we might have a greater appreciation for God's values, instead of our lustful selfish ambitions.
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Robert Edward Szekely
The Bible cannot take precedence over the will of the people in the United States because not all Americans are Christians, and America is not a Christian Theocracy. In addition, to do so would be unconstitutional. Everything anyone and everyone says about God is a belief, not a fact: as facts don't change depend on who perceives them. Facts are objective - backed by science and repeatable. Faith is subjective - backed by faith and differs from person to person.
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Robert Edward Szekely
Excuse me, I meant to say "Faith is subject - backed by belief and differs from person to person. This is immutably true.
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Lionheart
The god of the Old Testament did indeed condone slavery. You correctly pointed out that after the 7th year they can go free, with a variety of caveats, but you didn’t mention that in Exodus 21 v 20-21 gods law states that they can be beaten as long as they don’t die in the first two days, but the slaves owner is not to be punished if the slave manages to recover after a day or two, since the the slave is their property. God actually approves the beating of slaves with a rod Shawn. This is supposedly a very loving god that loves everyone. This was a perfect time to abolish slavery. This is the same god that asked a man to be stoned to death for picking up sticks on the sabbath day. Even Jesus didn’t use the perfect opportunities he had, if the stories handed down about him are correct, to abolish slavery during his sermon on the mount. To me, these are not the values of any deity worth following, let alone establish laws based on his poor performance of genocide on humanity.
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Tom
Respectfully...as is true much of the time, I agree with Lionheart...I also extend the comments to include the fact that bibles are written, edited, re-written, just as all revisionist history...those that feel the need for bible-oriented laws should consider living in countries where sharia governs...Peace...Tom B
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Tom
why do you say "delete comment"?...why?...
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Chaplain Shawn
Greetings Tom,
Let us not confuse the Quran with the Bible. I hate to be the one to break this news, but the Bible has already influenced common law, The Declaration of Independence, and The US Constitution. You can search those documents. So, to disagree with what the US founding fathers set up is futile.
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Tom
Shawn...Respectfully...I do not see how your comment is relavent to mine...especially the reference to the Qur'an...obviously there are references in both the bible and the Constitution that deal with treatment of people...if you care to cite specifics in both a particular part of a particular "bible", and compare them specifically to the Constitution, et al, I will be able to respond...to be clear: all organized religions are false; they make anhtropormorphic "gods", clearly state many prejudices, allege (wrongly) that "gods" get angry, punish etc; all of this is fantasy...God/Divinity/Universe is benign; all is love,. compassion and foregiveness...Peace...Tom B
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Tom
Once again I ask why you say "delete comment"...
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Tom, a better question for them might be " What are you smoking?" And, " How much have you had? "
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
P.S. This one says "Delete comment" too, but I'm nothing like a people pleaser, and if they didn't want it on here they shouldn't have posted it.
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Mnstr Timothy Blackwood
I couldn't agree more. But, I must insist that in et. al. you mentioned, how about in addition to the 'bible', Q'uaran, and the like... We base our laws on Mother Goose, Grimm's Fairy Tales, and above all, Ripley's Believe'it or Not. Isaac A. is a great idea too.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I've thought the same thing,Timothy.
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Dan Anderson
Tom - If one actually READS the Qur'an, they might even see that it is far less violent than the KJV1611. There is so much misunderstood by those who listen to radicalist Christians and their attempt at insulting Islam, that few like those rants rather than learning themselves.
The fundamental Quranic principle is that fighting is allowed only in self-defense, and it is only against those who actively fight against you. Indeed, Islam is a religion that seeks to maximize peace and reconciliation. Yet, Islam is not a pacifist religion; it does accept the premise that, from time to time and as a last resort, arms must be taken up in a just war.
If the enemy inclines toward peace, however, Muslims must follow suit: “But if they stop, God is most forgiving, most merciful” (2:192). Also read: “Now if they incline toward peace, then incline to it, and place your trust in God, for God is the all-hearing, the all-knowing” (8:61).
So many people look at the phrase, "Quran 2:191 – “And kill them wherever you find them…”. Those "unbelievers/infidels/idolators" were the invaders who attacked people on their lands, raped and pillaged them. It was NOT about anyone who is not a follower of Muhammad.
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Dan Anderson
Now, regarding the Bible:
Deuteronomy 13:7-12 ESV Some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you. ...
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Personally, some of my favorite religious sayings are : 'an harm ye none do as ye will, and , with a fool no season spend or be counted as his friend. That sounds a lot better to me than anything I ever read in the Christian Bible,but They came from the Wiccan Rede. Of all those who have read and understood the Rede let's take a poll to find out how many would like to include any of it into American laws. And how many of those polled about the Bible have read that book thoroughly, and understood what I they read. My guess is not very many. And I bet an overwhelming majority of them were christians, those who want to be thought of as christians, and those who are scared to not be thought of as christians. And from what I've gathered from talking to people throughout my life there are far more of them in this nation than actual christians.
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Tom
Lionheart...quite right...Peace..Tom B
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Brien
I believe that people should influence law, not an old book based in fiction and mixed with a little history. If we get to base our laws on fiction, I chose Harry Potter. Or anything by Isaac Asimov. 😉
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Paul Degenkolb
A bit of Heinlein would be good too. Religions are based on the need of the time and in what people knew at the time. They are perpetuated by people that see religion as a source of power. They (and their supporting documents) make a poor basis for any laws in the modern day. (This will be true of rules based on today's realities applied to a future society as well.)
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Dan Anderson
Let me add Kahlil Gibran and his epic, "The Prophet". It has much more valuable ethical behavior mentioned in it than the Bible, IMHO.
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Tom Thackrey
I have several problems with the Bible overriding our laws.
1) Not everyone is a Christian. 2) Whose interpretation of which translation of the Bible do we accept? The pope? Jerry Falwell? Donald Trump? SOCTUS? At least our laws have a process for interpretation and correction. I suppose God would be the ultimate decider, but she is usually silent on the issues. 3) The bible is often unclear, imprecise and contradictory. Even the commandment "thou shall not kill" raises questions about capitol punishment, self-defence, etc. 4) The bible is fixed in time suggesting it is perfect. This is not based on the reality of life on earth.
Our laws are and should be an amalgam of all our beliefs. They need to be able to change as we see the need to improve or remove them.
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Vern Dee Wall
Close to 100% of Americans don't even know what the bible says. They only know what they have heard from some random person. Christian ministers routinely misquote verses. It's hard to find two members of the same church who agree on what their denomination wants them to believe.
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Chris
This is not now, nor has it ever been, a "Christian" nation. The majority of people who label themselves "Christian" don't even seem to understand the teachings of Jesus from the book they love to thump. The Bible is not the basis of US law any more so than any other reasonable code of law, despite claims that it is. In no way should the Bible, the holy book of one particular denomination, hold sway in this country.
That being said, if we are going to start holding people accountable for their actions based on "Biblical Principle" then a whole lot of the people wanting this had better look out. How many evangelists and preachers have been caught molesting children? How many theocratic politicians have had affairs? Even our current president, who claims to be a "Christian" and whom so many Fundigelicals revere, has broken most of the 10 Commandments. I seem to recall Jesus saying something about whomever is without sin casting the first stone. I wonder who that would be....
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I hope you don't think all of the men who wrote and signed the Constitution were christians. A lot of them weren't. And they never once quoted the Bible. Although some of it sounded like things that were written in the Bible they could have just as easily have thought of all that stuff themselves, without ever thinking about what book may have prompted them to think it. Parallels can be found in other sources too. Some people of other Creeds might also see things in it that can be attributed to their religions. So I can't believe that anyone can knowledgeably claim that our laws, and the U.S. Constitution are based on the Bible. That sir, can only be considered speculation, or hearsay, which is not admissable as evidence in a court of law.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
And biblical laws are based on fairytales. Mother have mercy!!!
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Fairytales, can come true, they can happen to you (but not me), if you're young at heart. And another word for young at heart is naive.
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The Rev. William C, Millhouse
When will people get it through their thick skulls that this is NOT a Christian nation?
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Walter Eugene Curtis
In my dabblings with world religions and philosophies, I have posited five principles that I think/feel are common to all of them: light, goodwill, peace, forgiveness, love. Perhaps such common principles can form the basis for influencing laws, and be separate from, while still acknowledging, religions and sacred writings?
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Minister Mike
Of course the Bible should influence US law, as should the holy writings of all other religions that support ...Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. However, none of them should BE the law.
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Rev Ned
Christian Taliban.
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Clay Serenbetz
The next question needs to ask them if they favor repeal of the 1st Amendment, which they are implicitly violating with their views.
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Mark Hannon
My mother was raised in Nazi Germany. Her town was combined in 1936 by Hitler so he could have the winter Olympics there. People just let him do things because he said he'd put them all to work after the depression. I really don't like the way the U.S.A. is heading. I guess I am in the minority.
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The Heretic Hour
Our laws are based on biblical law. Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.
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Lionheart
They are? I didn’t know that! That’s very interesting! Perhaps you can explain how the SCOTUS go about doing that? Thank you, in advance, of your input.
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Dan Anderson
Sorry, but no, the laws of the land, even though they may have some commonality with Judeo-Christian-Islamic laws, are NOT religious by any means. John Adams, in the Treaty of Tripoli, stated, "The government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion."
Methinks you might want to look into your claim, People's Project, to see if your claim is fact. (Hint: It isn't.)
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Mark Hannon
I know some churches that haven't handled using the bible well. I don't think a country would do any better job.
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Summer Bree Nichols
I believe that church and state need stay separated I don’t want a politician telling me how to practice my relationship with the lord
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Robert A Stiff
"When Fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross"--Sinclair Lewis
If you look around, it's already started. Not content to manage their own lives according to their beliefs. they insist on forcing those same beliefs on everyone else. Religion, especially Christianity, is a cancer on the body of civilization.
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Dan Anderson
If these folks wish to have the Bible influence the laws of the land, that tells me that they have NOT studied the Bible at all. Do they really want the stoning to death of unruly children? If someone works on the Sabbath, even for something so minor as to make a meal, should they, too, be killed? If adulterers need to be killed, you KNOW that will lower the population quite a large percentage, and many will probably be some of those people who think the Bible should be an influencing factor in the laws.
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Richard Lee Cornell
The reason to keep your God out of my bedroom or myu boardroom is that it is the way the founding fathers said it would be. When they wrote that into the Bill of Rights it was because the King of Eingland had his religion that was the only one allow by the crown in the colonies. Having freedom of religion also meant that I have freedom from your pagen religion. A example is to go to the local public library and see all the stuff on the shelves. If this was a Islamic State 95% of those shelves would be bare. Would not fairany better if this country was rule by Christians.
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Hazel
NO. The Bible should NOT influence the laws of the land. Supposedly, this country has separation of church and state. The first amendment to the US Constitution states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The two parts, known as the "establishment clause" and the "free exercise clause" respectively, form the textual basis for the Supreme Court's interpretations. If the Bible is used to create the law of the land, I can actually see where followers of non-JudaicChristian religions could be discriminated against legally. The Bible has NOTHING good to say about other religions. As a matter of fact, as a Wiccan, I would be put to death. Since I have done nothing to anyone in the name of my religion, that would clearly be a hate crime. And, little by little, the present administration in the White House is ignoring hate crimes against multiple groups of people. But then he's made it very apparent in multiple situations that he's a bigot, so what else is new.
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Curtis Wade Beard
I think that ALL religions should be used as a guide in reference to our laws. Trying to find commonality where we can. After all they all have guidance for moral living.
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Thomas A. Follis
The Bible has always had its place in influences. We’ve sworn on the Bible since the beginning of time. Swearing into office, court, funeral. Even the military. It is man himself that has violated GODS word and allowed corruption in our country. AND that includes politics/politicians. Isn’t it amazing how, when everything is peachy, GOD is never mentioned. When things go in the other direction, all we think about is GOD and THE BIBLE. Your choice. Live by the sword-die by the sword.
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Kevin Michael Meyer
I can only speak for myself as a child of God and a follower of Jesus Christ. I may live in this world but I am no longer of this world. My home is in Heaven. I am here to learn as much as possible while I am here and to teach others what I have learned. Would I love this world we live in to pattern itself after the teachings given to us by Jesus while He walked upon this earth? Of course I would! Is it realistic? No. The reason why is Jesus told us that this world is passing away. While I am here; I am called by my Lord to submit myself to the authorities of this world and to follow the laws of this land. That is what I will do until that glorious day comes when my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, calls me home.
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Alexander Clarke
The basis of most laws can be found in religion. That does not mean that they are all good laws or bad. People and laws change over time. Religions tend not to.
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Tammy Smith
I love the word of God (Holy Bible) and I believe that there are many religions that hold the same values, so I am for the laws written from that majority stand point. Other than that, Jesus said for us to “ Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God‘s” clearly distinguishing state and religion.
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Tammy Smith
No one Chris! That is why Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law and all righteousness. The Holy Bible says to forgive others so the Father in heaven will forgive you. The Word of God also says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Therefore we have no right to judge others (is this person right with God or not, or is this person worth forgiving). The Word of God also says that love covers a multitude of sin. The law should be impartial and the penalties commiserate with the crime.
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MarilynKS
Tammy, I wholeheartedly agree. Thank you for what I believe is a balanced and loving response.
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Jeffrey Stoecker
We're making informed guesses at this point regarding what would please the ultimate being. I see no problem in using what men wrote in ancient books of widely accepted wisdom to inform our decisions. They were written by men, though -- ancient men.
If one prophet or manifesting demiurge in all of history's writings had pointed to a puddle and told those gathered "Drink not of this water, lest ye boil it. For it is swimming with life too small for mortal eyes to see. They will make thee sick... or dead altogether," then I'd be prostrate. I'd be saying "The Architect" made these rules -- just copy and paste into the law books. That didn't happen, though, because those ancient wise guys had no idea what was going on in that puddle. If they didn't see that, they didn't see us. In my opinion, we're on our own to reach up to the abstract and draw down what wisdom we can. We're better equipped, though. We know more about what's going on in that puddle.
As I remember in Matthew the scribes asked what is the law and the reply was love thy neighbor as yourself is the totality of the law . They cherry pick the laws they like for others to follow not that they follow only the herd of sheep they the sheep dogs move about willy nilly . all too many have been caught jim baker an swaggaert pop in my head .... preach hell fire damnation but get on tv crying saying forgive me I sinned but everyone else they wanted capital punishment or very very long prison sentences for .
Keep your religion where it belongs in your home or church it has no business in politics or government look at the past most fled Europe to be able to worship freely . Where the church of choice was set by the government that punished any that deviated with death sentence .....
There was good reason Washington Adams and Jefferson all said it was not a christian nation but one of free worship . freedom doesn't mean only that which we agree with but even that which repulses us as long as it dose no harm to others .
Your freedoms end where others freedom starts no one has the right t tell a person what to believe ............ or how to act unless it causes injury tp another .
Well said, and we know that was what our founding fathers spoke of. If anyone remembers the history of when the Pilgrims landed and established their communities, the Puritan way was what they goverened by. We know how that turned out. To refresh one's memory, the Salem Witch trials was because of the lack of religious freedom and intolerance. It caused a division of the community. It sent a group to RI to be free of the Puritans and start anew. Fast forward to the late 1700s and the fathers of this country wanted to make sure that we all had the right to be part of any or none at all, organized religion. The government will not establish religion, even though many did worship or did practice their religion. We do see many references to God everywhere you look in America. Monuments, money, songs and traditions, so is our country God based or the understanding of God, yes. But it is a freedom of religion, a freedom to worship, not from religion. As far as telling someone else what they must believe, no that is not what our government was established for. And for how to act, yes there was an intent, accepted practices of the day based on their beliefs and values. Love one another, As I have loved you. You don't have to believe in any one religion to know that LOVE is kind, patient , does not envy, is not boastful, it's not proud - the evil proud, it doesn't delight in the misfortunes of others. And the list goes on. One thing we know, God is part of this country and the exercise of religion is too... Brother David