Survey: Most Oppose Book Bans, Support Elective Bible Study

A new survey released this week by the Public Religion Research Institute finds most Americans are against banning books, but support students being able to voluntarily study Christian Bible courses.

According to the survey, just 10% favored banning books dealing with slavery or African American studies, 29% supported banning social and emotional learning programs in public schools because those issues should be taught by parents, and 43% support banning the discussion of sex or gender in public schools.

In contrast, a majority of 53% of Americans support offering elective classes in Christian Bible study, the survey found.

The 14^th annual 2023 American Values Survey was conducted with 2,525 adults from Aug. 25-30 and has a margin of error of +/- 2.19 percentage points, according to the institute.

A majority of those surveyed, 56%, said that college is not a smart investment and may not pay off for students compared to 43% who said it was a smart investment for a student to make for the future.

The wide-ranging survey also looked at politics and issues impacting the 2024 elections.

The survey found 60% of Americans believe that abortion should be legal in most or all cases, with 63% of independents saying it should be legal in almost all cases.

Another majority of Americans, 53%, agree that discrimination and slavery have given white people an economic advantage, compared to 41% who disagree.

The survey also found Americans split at 48% each on whether the United States has become "too soft and feminine," with 72% of Republicans saying it has, along with 48% of independents and just 24% of Democrats, according to the survey.

Americans are also closely split on the question of providing medical care for gender transitions for children with 49% favoring laws to prevent that type of care compared to 47% opposing those laws.

A majority, 54%, say those advocating for transgender rights have gone too far in recent years, compared to 43% who say things have not gone too far.

According to the survey, most Americans see the current immigration situation as strengthening the nation, with 52% seeing the influx of newcomers as a benefit to the country as opposed to 44% that see it as a threat to the customs and values of America.

Some 60% said that migrants should be given a way to become U.S. citizens if they can meet certain requirements, which has remained fairly constant from the 57% agreeing with that position in 2022.