A new survey revealed that for most Americans, family, friends or religious teachings are the main source of moral guidance, while less than one-fifth said that their main source is political leaders or social media influencers.
A new poll has found that 79% of Americans said that they receive moral guidance from their family, while a majority or 66% said they receive it from the rule of law. The survey also found that 65% said they receive moral guidance from friends, while 63% said they receive it from religious teachings. Only 57% said they receive moral guidance from a religious leader.
A recent Deseret News/Marist Poll found that very little or 16% of respondents said that their source for moral guidance is political leaders, while 12% said they get moral guidance from their favorite social media influencer. Only 10% said they receive moral guidance from Oprah Winfrey or their favorite athlete.
New Poll Gives Insight on Americans' Moral Choices
On Monday, Deseret News reported on the Marist Poll, which is the second part of the media outlet's Faith in America survey, which examined several faith-centric topics. The poll's results showed that a majority or 86% of Americans said they have prayed for a family member, while 70% said they have prayed for a colleague. However, only 43% said they have prayed for a political leader, while 37% said they have prayed for their business or company.
Moreover, the poll found that Americans are divided when it comes to deciding whether an individual's "religious beliefs and values" should influence their business decisions. Only 47% replied affirmative, while 51% believed the opposite. Christians, representing 58% of the respondents to this question, and those who practice a religion or 69% of respondents, were more likely to say that a person's religious beliefs should have an influence.
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In addition, 57% of Christian respondents said that they do not factor their faith into their business decisions. Meanwhile, a strong majority or 85% of Americans said that they were "comfortable with the people with whom they work knowing their personal religious beliefs." This included 87% of Christians and 90% of those who practice a religion who shared this belief.
Lastly, 61% of Americans said that religion does not play a role in where they work, while only 15% said the contrary, that religion plays a major role. Only 22% of respondents said religion plays a minor role.
Survey Shows How Americans' Religion Factors Into Their Daily Lives
"Americans are largely comfortable with those they work with knowing their personal religious beliefs," Deseret National executive director Hal Boyd said of the survey results, the Christian Headlines reported. He explained that while the survey, which was conducted from January 19 to 26 among 1,653 adults in the U.S., shed light into how Americans of different backgrounds "do or do not incorporate religion and faith into key aspects of their personal and professional lives," it also showed that for most of them, "one's religious beliefs should not influence their business decisions," and that "religion does not play a role in where they choose to work or the businesses where they shop."
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