Half of Evangelicals Oppose Funding of Religious Groups

WASHINGTON - Half of the nation's evangelical Christians do not support government funding of faith-based organizations, a survey shows.

New data released Wednesday (Oct. 25) from the Baylor Religion Survey show that 50 percent of evangelicals, and 65 percent of the total population, think federal funding of religious organizations is inappropriate. Twenty-six percent of the total respondents surveyed said they agree with such funding.

Byron Johnson, a sociology professor at Baylor University, said the finding about evangelicals may be the product of misinformation and rumors about the work of faith-based initiatives.

"For example, a lot of groups will not even entertain the idea of applying for public funds because they feel like if they do that the cross or the menorah or the Star of David has to come down," he said. "I think it reflects a horrible miscommunication about the initiative."

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