U.S. — Pew Research Center released findings from a survey of 3,592 U.S. adults conducted from April 6 to April 12, 2026. The survey indicated varying levels of public support for religious expression in public schools, with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.

A majority of Americans, 78%, favor allowing students to voluntarily pray in student-led groups. Support was also measured for other forms of religious presence in schools: 57% of adults favor allowing coaches to lead their teams in prayer, and 50% favor displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

When it comes to teacher-led prayer, 46% of U.S. adults are in favor of allowing teachers to lead their classes in prayer. Specifically, 53% of adults favor teacher-led prayer only if student participation is not required, while 8% believe students should be required to participate. Conversely, 37% of adults say teacher-led prayer should not be allowed at all.

Religious groups showed different levels of support for teacher-led prayer. Among White evangelical Protestants, 80% support teacher-led prayer if participation is optional, while 7% believe it should be required. Black Protestants showed 55% support for optional teacher-led prayer and 23% for required participation. Catholics favored optional teacher-led prayer at 57% and required participation at 10%. White Protestants who are not evangelical supported optional teacher-led prayer at 56% and required at 6%. Among religiously unaffiliated adults, 35% supported optional teacher-led prayer, 4% supported required participation, and 59% said it should not be allowed.

Political affiliation also correlated with views on teacher-led prayer. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 69% supported optional teacher-led prayer and 10% supported required participation. For Democrats and Democratic leaners, 38% supported optional teacher-led prayer, 6% supported required participation, and 54% said teachers should not lead prayer at all. Adults ages 50 and older aligned with 55% supporting optional teacher-led prayer and 9% supporting required participation.

Demographic data by age group revealed 51% of U.S. adults ages 18 to 49 support teacher-led prayer if participation is optional, and 8% support required participation. Geographically, 58% of adults in the South favored optional teacher-led prayer, and 11% favored required participation. In the Midwest, 56% supported optional teacher-led prayer, and 6% supported required participation. In the Northeast, 47% supported optional teacher-led prayer, and 9% supported required participation. The West had 46% in favor of optional teacher-led prayer and 5% in favor of required participation. These survey findings follow recent legislative efforts in several states to implement prayer or display the Ten Commandments in public schools.