Democrats are more likely than Republicans to believe that churches have a negative impact on American society, according to a recent report by Pew Research Center.
In a report released Monday by Pew’s U.S. Politics & Policy department, 44 percent of Liberal Democrats were found to view churches’ impact on society as negative, contrasted with 14 percent of Republicans.
Pew also found that 46 percent of those unaffiliated with any religion and 43 percent of those who seldom or never attend religious services believe churches and religious groups have a negative impact on society.
“On balance, more liberal Democrats say the national news media has a positive (51%) than negative (39%) impact on the country. Opinion among conservative and moderate Democrats is the reverse (39% positive, 51% negative),” continued Pew.
For the past several years, many pundits and political experts have accused the Democratic Party of having a “God problem,” or being too secular in their tone and views on religion.
Pew’s survey showing 36 percent of Democrats viewing churches as having a negative impact on society comes a month after former Democratic presidential hopeful and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders attacked a Trump Administration appointee over his Christian views.
During a Senate Budget Committee nomination hearing last month, Sen. Sanders critically questioned Russell Vought, Trump’s nominee for deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, saying that he would vote against the appointee due to a blog post in which Vought said Muslims “stand condemned” for not believing in Jesus.
“This is why Democrats lost in 2016. It’s why we didn’t deserve to win on our own merits in 2016,” commented former Obama Administration official Michael Wear on Facebook. “And it’s why we’re on track to lose again in 2018. I remember when Democratic leadership used to speak out against using religion as a weapon.”