A new study has found that almost half of Americans believe that the Bible should influence the making of US laws. The survey from Pew Research Center revealed that 49 per cent of participants insisted that the holy scriptures should have "some" influence on the crafting of new American laws, with a quarter (23 per cent) saying the Bible should have “a great deal” of influence on the matter.
Despite the US Constitution not making any reference to the Bible, God, Jesus or Christianity, Pew found that some 68 per cent of American Christians believe the Bible should play a pivotal role in the lawmaking process. Among white evangelical Protestants, the figure rises to an astonishing nine-in-ten (89 per cent).
Republicans were also much more likely to support the notion of Biblically-influenced lawmaking.
At the other end of the spectrum, there is great scepticism towards allowing the Bible to hold sway over American law, with three-quarters of religiously unaffiliated Americans rejecting the idea of Christianity influencing the lawmaking process. In addition, some 86 per cent of self-described atheists who say the Bible should not influence U.S. legislation whatsoever.
Pew used data drawn from its American Trends Panel, and conducted the study on Feb. 4-15th using a sample of 6,395 with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.6 percentage points.
Many responded negatively to the study on Twitter, with several users pointing out the necessity for the separation of Church and State.
"The US right wing is constantly going on about freedom, the sanctity of the Constitution and reducing government control, yet it seems they would be perfectly happy to burn the Constitution and replace it with the 10 commandments," tweeted news anchor Teymoor Nabili.
Another user commented: "That is why the Founding Fathers believed strongly in the separation of Church and State. AMEN"
