Religious makeup of Congress in 2025 still holds more ‘Christians’ than America itself

January 6, 2025 by

To explore the Pew report in depth, please click on this chart.

By JOE GRIMM
Founder of the MSU School of Journalism Bias Busters

Congressional elections have made the U.S. Congress slightly more diverse religiously and a little less Christian, according to the Pew Research Center’s biennial analysis.

Let’s start with Christians, who make up 87% of the new Congress, down from 88% in the previous Congress. Although that contingent has dropped from 92% a decade ago, it remains far ahead of the nation’s makeup where 62% of adults are Christian.

The largest groups of Christians in the 119th Congress are Protestants, at 55.5% and Catholics at 28.2%, up from 148 members to 150. Breaking down Protestants in Congress, the largest groups are Baptists, 14.1%, who grew by eight seats; Methodists and Presbyterians at 4.9% each; Anglican/Episcopal, 4.1% and Lutherans, 3.6%. Each of those groups is larger in Congress than among U.S. adults.

Jewish members were down by one member, to 32, for 6% of Congress compared to 2% of the adult population.

The group that is least represented, compared to its number in the electorate, are religiously unaffiliated people. This group has been growing in the nation, but not in Congress. Among U.S. adults, it has grown from 16% in 2007 to 28% today, according to Pew polling. However, in the combined U.S. Senate and House, just three seats of 523 are held by people who said they are unaffiliated. Three seats are also open for now.

In a Michigan State University guide, 100 Questions and Answers About the Religiously Unaffiliated, people reported reluctance to self-identify as unaffiliated because of stigma. They said the stigma is diminishing, however. People are becoming more comfortable to come out as non-religious. Apparently, that might not be the case in Congress. Twenty-one members declined to answer or could not be reached with the questionnaire. The report suggests more members are being less specific about their religion

Three religions that are big globally but small in the United States grew by a member or two. Hindu members doubled to four. The four Muslims and three Buddhists are increases of one each. Each of these religions is less than 1% of Congress, which is roughly their percentage in the country.

Long-Term Trends

The overall picture is this: Congress is continuing a long trend toward fewer Christians, more people of other religions and more people who will say they are religiously unaffiliated.

In its 2014 Religious Landscape Survey, Pew found that Millennials were twice as likely as Boomers, 35% to 17%, to say they are religiously unaffiliated. As members of Congress retire—the average age is above 60—and are overtaken by younger generations, major changes might be a continuing downturn among Christians and an increase among religiously unaffiliated

We might also expect most of the changes to occur in the U.S. House with its district so much smaller than the statewide dynamics of Senate seats.

Care to Learn More?

Politics and voting are covered in faith-related guides in the Bias Busters series. Guides include the religiously unaffiliated, Muslims, Jews, Latter-day Saints, Chaldeans, Sikhs and the Black Church with more on the way. There is also a guide about Millennials and Gen X. All are on Amazon.

What did this election show us? We all need to learn more about our neighbors’ diverse gifts.

November 17, 2024 by

Diversity was a decisive factor in sometimes surprising ways

We are continuing to help all Americans learn about our neighbors’ distinctive cultures and contributions

By JOE GRIMM
Founder of the MSU School of Journalism Bias Busters project

The 2024 election showed how campaigns are paying more attention to the influence religious and ethnic groups can have on the course of the country. This time, Republicans won all seven swing states and their 93 electoral votes, far exceeding the 270 needed to win the White House.

But here’s a startling fact emerging in the post-election analysis: If just 130,000 voters in three of these battleground states had changed sides their 44 electoral votes would have changed the outcome.

Where were diversity issues decisive in this election?

Analysis of this election will continue for years—but here are a few emerging snapshots that illustrate the crucial importance of diversity issues:

Michigan: With more Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians than any other state, this multicultural and multi-faith group coalition protested the Biden White House’s support and funding for Israel’s war in Gaza. Listen to Michigan reports that 100,000 people responded to a call to vote “uncommitted.” Others threw their votes toward the Green Party.

In 2016, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in Michigan by 10,674 votes out of almost 4.8 million. Democrats countered in 2020 with more advertising and visits. Michigan flipped, giving Joe Biden a margin of 154,000 votes.

This time, in the face of active Republican outreach and the uncommitted vote campaign, Kamala Harris lost Michigan by 80,618 votes.

Michael Traugott, research professor at the University of Michigan’s Center for Political Studies, explained the results on The Conversation.  He wrote, “In 2020, the Biden-Harris team had won almost 69% of the vote in Dearborn. In 2024, Harris got just 36% – with Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, taking 18%.”

Pennsylvania: This state has more Anabaptists, primarily Mennonites and the Amish, than any other. However, because Anabaptists traditionally have concentrated more on the heavenly kingdom rather than earthly governance, turnout is lower than for other citizens. But this year, according to Anabaptist World, “Media outlets reported Amish people registered to vote in unprecedented numbers after state agriculture officials executed a search warrant … to investigate if sales of raw dairy products produced there caused E. coli illnesses in Michigan and New York. Regulations ban the sale of raw dairy in other states. The newsletter said Mennonites and the Amish found shared values with the GOP and government overreach.”

Trump won Pennsylvania in 2016, Biden took it back in 2020. Trump won by 146,554 this year in a margin larger than his 2016 win.

Wisconsin: This swing state has 30,000 Hmong people, more than any states other than California and Minnesota. Few Hmong people lived in the United States until they were airlifted out of Southeast Asia, where they had fought in the CIA’s Secret War during the Vietnam War. Hmong people have a very high rate of citizenship. Their power at the polls is growing.

In July, before Harris replaced Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, her husband, Douglas Emhoff, visited a Hmong festival in central Wisconsin.

According to the New York Post,  Emhoff told festival-goers: “This community right here could decide the election in this state, which could decide the entire election. You have the power right here.”

But campaigning hard at a cultural and social event honoring Hmong veterans may have backfired.

The Post reported that State Sen. Cory Tomczyk, working a Republican booth at the Wausau festival, said people were unhappy “with the chaos and campaign paraphernalia Emhoff brought to the event.”

Wisconsin helped put the GOP over the top and Tomczyk signaled the party will do more in the future. “It’s our fault we’ve been absent from this festival.” He said family values in the Hmong community “align with Republican values.”

The Michigan State University School of Journalism’s Bias Busters series has “100-question-and-answer guides” on Arab, Muslims and Hmong people. A guide about Anabaptists is almost out.

Whatever your perspective on the election is—the outcome makes it clear that all Americans will want to learn more about the distinctive cultures and contributions of our neighbors.

Joe Grimm’s review of Detroit Free Press veteran John Gallagher’s memoir, ‘Rust Belt Reporter’

October 6, 2024 by

Stories from a Journalist Looking for Signs of Detroit’s Comeback

Review by JOE GRIMM
Founder of the MSU School of Journalism Bias Busters project

Click on the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page.

John Gallagher went off in search of good stories and found some great ones.

In his memoir, Rust Belt Reporter, Gallagher shares a lot of his best ones about Detroit and the Detroit Free Press, where he wrote them.

Gallagher accepted a reporting gig at the newspaper in 1987, attracted by the gritty charm he saw in Detroit and wanting to indulge his passion for urban affairs. The city and the “characters” in the newsroom intrigued him. While he was never what one would call a character himself, Gallagher was a wry observer of what went on around him. I worked with him at the Free Press from his arrival until I left in 2008. Gallagher’s modus operandi was to punch out solid, insightful copy without drama.

That same talent makes Rust Belt Reporter a fun, informative read.

Gallagher writes that, when he started at the Free Press, the newsroom had a payroll of 320. When he retired in late 2019, the staff had been hollowed out to fewer than 100. Readers—and the ad dollars they attract—had fled to the web.

The Free Press seemed like a small reflection of the City of Detroit, which hit a high-water census tally of 1.85 million residents in 1950 and fell to 640,000 in 2020.

While it took the city 70 years to lose nearly two thirds of its population, newsroom staffing at the paper fell further and twice as fast. It shrank by more than two-thirds in Gallagher’s 32-year tenure. People with institutional knowledge were bought out, laid off or fled. Departments once deemed essential for quality journalism were cut or outsourced. The traditional business model of great newspapers was trashed.

As this happened to them, Gallagher and his colleagues chronicled the siphoning of jobs and wealth from Detroit to the suburbs, the South and overseas. They detailed the disintegration of city services and education, drug wars, auto company bailouts, the imprisonment of a corrupt mayor and the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Houses, stores and factories were abandoned and razed. Once-grand schools, the largest department store in the world and a hospital were left open to scrappers and demolished.

The details of the Free Press’ swoon were no less dramatic. It shackled itself to its former rival, The Detroit News, in the nation’s largest Joint Operating Agreement. The newspapers combined most departments while insisting they were still competitors. The arrangement contributed to a grinding 19-month strike. Gallagher walked the picket line with colleagues from both newspapers and was later talked into being union president. The papers’ landmark buildings were sold, and workers shuffled off to ever-smaller rented quarters. Their industry-leading owners, Gannett and Knight Ridder, swapped papers with each other and eventually, to save money, stopped delivering the paper daily.

Gallagher wrote books about architecture and how Detroit and other cites could be—had to be—reimagined on a smaller scale. Visitors seeking photos of Detroit’s infamous “ruin porn” asked him for tour tips.

Gallagher kept picking away at the rust. And eventually, he wrote, “in my daily work covering the city I saw more and more encouraging signs. And these disparate elements would set the stage for what the world finally noticed was a remarkable urban turnaround.”

This year, reports by other journalists say Detroit is showing its first population growth since the 1950s. Positive signs are shining through in many places. “Detroit” and “comeback” are showing up together in headlines, though many end with question marks.

The Free Press, struggling with industry-wide challenges, has not yet had a turnaround moment. Early in 2024, the Free Press and News newsrooms moved to smaller quarters in their rented building. On Oct. 1, the Free Press reported that the newsrooms must move again this year. They will be in another space in 2025, the year their Joint Operating Agreement is scheduled to end.

Gallagher and I overlapped at the Free Press for almost 20 years. His workmanlike professionalism and quality surprised me so often that I remember asking him how he did it.

He shares his secrets as a journalist and author in this book. One Gallagher habit that stumped me was that no matter how difficult or intricate his assignment was, he always seemed to make deadline and be out the newsroom door at a reasonable time. He addresses that in his book: “…the first draft? Blast through that. That’s where you’ll save a boatload of time. Your editors will think it’s spooky. And your dinner will still be warm when you get home.”

The Rev. Dr. Ryan Burge, an expert in ‘The Great Dechurching’ of America, closes down his own church

September 8, 2024 by

By JOE GRIMM
Director of the Bias Busters project at MSU School of Journalism

As Ryan Burge tells his story: It wasn’t supposed to go this way!

Want to learn more about those folks who are leaving churches? Click on this cover to visit the book’s Amazon page.

Burge is a nationally recognized expert on why people are leaving church—and he also was supposed to be an expert on what churches could do to bring people back into the fold. That’s the pitch for his new Zondervan book, The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back

However, that cultural, social and religious tidal wave was just too powerful for Burge and his small circle of members to save their aging, shrinking congregation knocking around in a big old building that once housed a thriving community.

When Burge announced publicly that he was helping to close down his own church—the news of their dilemma went viral.

In a version of his story that was published by the Utah-based Deseret News—Burge admitted:

I researched the decline of organized religion while having a front-row view of the change in my own life. What’s happened at my own church is especially poignant since in my day job I research trends in American religion. And when I first became a pastor, right out of college, there were ominous signs, but I did not foresee how quickly the end would come, hastened by a pandemic.

Who is Ryan Burge?

One of his online bios explains: “Ryan Burge is an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, where also serves as the graduate coordinator. He has authored over 30 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters alongside four books about religion and politics in the United States. He written for the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. 60 Minutes has called him, “one of the country’s leading data analysts on religion and politics.”

And here’s another twist in this tale:

There is a lot of good news in this story, despite its ironic conclusion.

On balance, the many years that Burge and these families devoted to their First Baptist Church of Mount Vernon, Illinois, were a powerful, inspirational force in their lives that continues to shape the world.

Bob Smietana, a reporter for Religion News Service, attended Burge’s last sermon and wrote a column titled In Small-Town Illinois, a Little Church Says Goodbye. Smietana reported that the congregation’s embrace of a Brown Bag Program in 2008 had renewed Burge’s faith. Over 15 years, the church’s small number of elderly members packed nearly 55,000 lunches.

Over the years, Burge worked hard at shoring up the congregation. At one point, Burge tried to find a buyer for the church. In 2017, the church was transferred to a Christian school as a last-ditch move to preserve the building’s Christ-centered mission. The deal meant the congregation could continue worshiping there on weekends, but it was no longer their building.

However—transferring the church to the school was never more than a short-term fix. Burge wrote, “every six or eight months, we would lose a key member, then another, then another. That two dozen became 15, then 12, then 10.”

On July 21, 2024, Burge wrote, “I stood behind the pulpit of First Baptist Church for the last time.” He walked out the doors, uncertain what the future holds for him and pessimistic about the future for organized religion.

Pessimistic about religious change?

Well, one place to start lifting your spirits in a practical way is with the Michigan State University School of Journalism Bias Busters book series.

For more than a decade, the guiding force behind this project has been helping Americans understand each other—especially those “others” who somehow seem different than “us.” We do this in our MSU team by “answering questions everybody’s asking but nobody’s answering.” We want our readers not to fear their neighbors.

That includes those millions of “religiously unaffiliated” Americans living all around us—in our families, our places of work, schools and communities.

Burge’s news story “went viral” because of its ironic hook—a nationally known expert seeming to fail in his own area of expertise—but that’s not a complete summary of this story, as Bob Smietana indicated in his reporting. Burge and his friends in Illinois found themselves caught up in a historic tidal wave—which should prompt our curiosity about how those same waters are moving through our communities.

That’s really the message summed up in the little quote from a church member that closes Bob Smietana’s story: “We are not done with each other.”

And, frankly, that’s also a pretty good tagline for our MSU Bias Busters series.

Instead of walking away from our neighbors in fear, anger and exhaustion—our students who produce these books keep rolling up their sleeves each year, ready to explore yet another corner of our communities.

Why do they do this?

Because, in our vision of America: We’re not done with each other.

 

MSU Bias Busters have a book to help as military culture collides with political posturing

August 19, 2024 by

In the field of military service, civilians can muddle the terms and concepts

By JOE GRIMM
Director of the MSU School of Journalism Bias Busters project

Click the cover to visit Amazon.

The rare occurrence of two veterans as vice presidential candidates on the major party tickets could have been a wonderful opportunity to celebrate all that our nation’s millions of veterans have contributed—but, given the often toxic tone of our political divisions, this is turning into an opportunity for political partisans to snipe at the candidates’ military records.

Since Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was named as the Democratic vice presidential candidate, squaring off opposite Republican Sen. J.D. Vance, hundreds of news stories, blog posts, commentaries and op-ed pieces have reflected on these issues. And, unfortunately, as journalism professionals, we often find ourselves shaking our heads wearily at obvious confusion about the terms and concepts involved in military service and in the lives of veterans and their families.

Responsible journalists need to help sort out the often skewed claims and counter claims. And, some of us have done so: Four examples of solid journalistic analysis have been published by Snopes.com, The Washington Post Fact Checker, POLITICO and FactCheck.org.

But the debate continues, the sniping continues and more questions and claims keep unfolding.

Would you like some help in sorting out this moment of national confusion?

At the Michigan State University School of Journalism Bias Busters project—we have a book for that!

It’s part of our award-winning Bias Busters series, a volume called 100 Questions and Answers About Veterans: A Guide for Civilians.

How rare is this matchup?

Curiously, a lot of the coverage of this veterans’ match up call it “rare,” but then the writers don’t detail when such a matchup last occurred.

Digging into the history of veterans and presidential campaigns pretty quickly surfaces every-four-year disputes over whether presidential and vice presidential candidates did—or did not—serve. The further we dig into the past, we eventually bump into quadrennial debates about how candidates responded—or didn’t—to the Vietnam War in particular. So, there is nothing “rare” about political posturing over military service every four years.

What is rare is a matchup of veterans as vice presidential candidates. The last time this happened was 1992, when Al Gore (Bill Clinton’s VP choice) had been an Army veteran, Dan Quayle (George H.W. Bush’s pick) had served in the national guard—and Medal of Honor winner James Stockdale made a third-party bid as the potential VP with Ross Perot.

So, yes, since this hasn’t happened in more than 30 years, it’s accurate to call this Walz-Vance matchup of vets something “rare” on the national political stage.

Fact or Myth? There aren’t many veterans in national office.

Here’s a great example of the confusion: The truth of the above headline depends on your point of view—but Pew Research documents specifically the declining numbers of veterans in Congress, which roughly mirrors the decline across all levels of national leadership. Pew was able to assemble this chart, because—after every round of Congressional elections—the nation’s main veterans groups all publish fresh analyses of these numbers. This data is vital in their ongoing lobbying efforts to push for policies of interest to those currently serving our nation and those who are vets.

So, the truth of this headline depends on your definition of “many.” Generally the word means “a large but indefinite number,” which could be accurate for 17 senators and 50 representatives for a total of 67 people. However, Merriam-Webster says one meaning of the word “many” could be “the great majority of people” so then that headline isn’t accurate.

What we do know is that Pew’s headline is true: “Share of members in Congress who are veterans has fallen in recent decades.” And that declining portion of veterans among national leadership concerns all of the millions of Americans who care about our military families. The declining share of veterans in Congress means fewer American leaders understand, first hand, military and veteran issues.

And that was one reason our MSU Bias Busters team decided to work with veterans groups to publish our book.

Case in point in this election cycle: What is ‘deployment’?

It is no surprise that military language, dragged into politics, can be distorted. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2022, just 6.2% of the U.S. population 18 and older are military veterans. So, most of the country is unfamiliar with military-speak and might misuse or misunderstand it.

In his POLITICO analysis that is linked above, Ben Kesling wrote, “Just as people might not fully recognize the subtlety of a foreign language’s words and phrases, civilians frequently miss—or misinterpret—the language service members use to talk about the nature and scope of their service.”

One example is “deployment.” Kesling wrote, “Simply put, a combat deployment is when someone is sent to a place where troops are engaging in operations.”

That’s operations. Deployment does not connote combat.

Our book explains this term with an example. The question in our book is, “Has everyone deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan been in combat?” The answer: “Not all. Many were physicians, mechanics, or information technology specialists, for instance, or served in support positions away from combat areas. Some may have engaged in combat remotely as drone pilots or from vessels at sea.”

What is ‘Stolen Valor’?

First, it’s a serious charge that can, in some circumstances, be illegal under the Stolen Valor Act of 2013. For service members, veterans and their families especially, “stolen valor” refers to an even broader range of grave offenses involving claims of military service.

In one passage of our book, we explain to readers: “The Stolen Valor Act outlaws false claims of having received certain military decorations if done with the intent of financial gain. Some interpret the idea more broadly and object to any false claim or exaggeration of military service.”

It is the “more broadly” that leads to trouble. Candidates sometimes get in trouble, for example, when making off-the-cuff references to their military service—or because of memorabilia that supporters give them and encourage them to display. During his term in the White House, Donald Trump was accused of “blurring the lines” with his personal collection of “challenge coins,” which have a long tradition in military culture dating back to the Roman Empire.

Similarly, over the past decade, hats—especially baseball-style caps—have been at issue.

After wading through a number of potentially swampy issues, Kesling’s POLITICO conclusion is: “What shouldn’t be lost in the conversation is that both Vance and Walz served their country honorably and had no marks against their records when they were in uniform.”

Learn about military terminology and traditions in 100 Questions and Answers About Veterans: A Guide for Civilians.

Kamala Harris and politics, plus Sunisa ‘Suni’ Lee and Olympics gymnastics, are shining spotlights on Hmong Americans

July 29, 2024 by

Click the cover to visit the Hmong book page on Amazon.

Hmong communities illustrate the importance of swing voters in the 2024 presidential race

By JOE GRIMM
Director of the MSU Bias Busters project

Suddenly, after years of invisibility in American culture, Hmong Americans are popping up in news stories all summer long—including this new July 29 profile of Olympic gymnast Sunisa “Suni” Lee in The New York Times that briefly touches on traditions that are common in Hmong families. Now, most Americans have seen media coverage of Suni Lee, because of the massive global interest on the Paris Olympics.

What’s new in this wave of media attention on the Hmong is the appearance of the Kamala Harris presidential campaign in full swing—which means her allies are working to solidify every possible connection the candidate can make with swing voters nationwide. And that includes the potential of electing the first Asian-American president. Among the headlines exploring the Asian roots of Harris’s family is this July 28 New York Times story by Amy Qin, which points out how much Americans still need to learn about her background.

No, Harris is not Hmong, but keep reading because complex cultural connections are popping up every day and there’s more about Harris and Hmong Americans below.

So much to learn! That’s why we’ve published so many books!

This summer, everyone connected with the MSU Bias Busters project is eager to spread the news about our books on American diversity—prepared by Michigan State University School of Journalism students who have been advised by blue-ribbon panels of experts nationwide. Working with those panels of leading figures from these communities to insure accuracy and balance, the students’ nearly two-dozen books now include at least a half dozen volumes that are relevant to these two stories about Lee and Harris that are dominating news cycles as August begins.

And—with each day’s news headlines—the list of the relevant-right-now books in this MSU series quickly expands beyond that half-dozen titles.

Why is that?

These distinct communities are connecting with each other every day!

On July 21, Kamala Harris clinched pledges from the majority of Democratic delegates who will nominate the party’s candidate for president. On July 23, her campaign team and surrogates were working the Hmong Village Shopping Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

That quick turnaround illustrates how much attention candidates and parties pay to voting blocs, even small ones, in swing states where fewer votes can make a difference.

Harris could become the first Asian-American president. Her mother is Indian and her father is Jamaican.

Hmong voters, who number only about 300,000 nationally, are the largest Asian group in Minnesota, a key battleground state in the 2020 election. Speculation about whom Harris will choose as her running mate has included Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Additionally, Hmong people have among the highest rates of naturalized citizenship and voting of all Asian Americans. They were airlifted from Southeast Asia during a brief window starting in 1975 by the United States. We developed close ties with their communities because we had recruited them as allies in the fight against the Viet Cong in Southeast Asia.

Mai Xiong, who runs a produce store at the St Paul shopping center, said many people she knows support Harris—not for her gender or ethnicity, but for her experience. Harris “will get a lot of Asian votes,” Xiong told Sahan Journal. The digital news site focuses on Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color.

Clearly, however, political activists are hoping that an Asian-American ethnic connection may prove persuasive in November. Although Hmong Americans live in all 50 states, their populations are highest in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan—swing states all—and California, where Harris is from.

To illustrate that importance of those cultural connections—a speaker at a St. Paul roundtable was Cincinnati’s Asian American mayor, Aftab Pureval. He grew up in India, and his mother was born in Tibet.

Sahan Journal reported that Pureval said, “You might be wondering, why is the mayor of Cincinnati here in the Twin Cities? It’s because we have an opportunity to elect the first auntie, the first Asian American president in our country’s history.”

100 Questions and Answers About Hmong Americans: Secret No More, was published in July. It addresses the Hmong journey to the United States, their high rates of naturalized citizenship and voting. For an easy overview of the entire series, simply visit MSU Bias Busters project at Amazon.

 

 

Here’s a helpful guide to religious freedoms as schools become a political-religious battleground

July 1, 2024 by

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Michigan State University School of Journalism Bias Busters project was founded in an effort to “bust” myths about minorities that complicate and in some cases seriously harm the lives of American individuals and families.

Click the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page.

By JOE GRIMM
Director of the MSU Bias Busters Project

Legislation in two states and reporting by Pew Research have brought disagreements about the relationship between religion and government into sharp focus this month. Schools are the battleground.

State actions have been taken in Louisiana and Oklahoma.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups have sued to stop a new law requiring that every public classroom in Louisiana from elementary schools through colleges display the Ten Commandments. That would start in January.

In Oklahoma, PBS reports, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters has mandated that public school classrooms from grades 5-12 have copies of the Bible and that all teachers must teach from it. This also would begin in 2025.

In the midst of these actions, Pew reports that supporters of Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who backed the Louisiana law, disagree sharply on the proper role for religion in government. This party-line split has been similar for years.

According to Pew, 71% of U.S. voters overall said religion should be kept out of government. On the other hand, 28% said government should support religious beliefs.

Among Trump voters, 56% said religion and government policy should be separate from government policy while 43% said government policies should support religious values. A larger majority of Biden supporters, 86% to 13% said religion and government should be separate.

The Secular Coalition of America advocates for “the equal rights of nonreligious Americans” and “the separation of religion and government.”

The coalition calls the Louisiana Ten Commandments law “discriminatory against religious minorities and non-religious individuals” and “a clear breach of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

Religious freedoms are explored in 100 Questions and Answers About the Religiously Unaffiliated: Nones, Agnostics, Atheists, Humanists, Freethinkers, Secularists and Skeptics, a guide from the the Michigan State University School of Journalism. This series of more than 20 books helps people get to know the many groups that comprise American society.