NEW YORK, April 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A large majority of Americans say their religious or spiritual faith has helped them during the coronavirus outbreak, especially more religious Americans, according to a new poll from Fordham University. Among those who attend services most frequently, in-person attendance is down as stay-at-home orders continue, but watching religious services online or on television has replaced that for most.

The poll, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, took place from April 16 through 20, 2020, among 1,003 respondents nationwide. It has a margin of sampling error of 4.33 percentage points. The poll is a product of the Fordham Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ Advanced Certificate in Public Opinion and Survey Research and its M.A. in Elections and Campaign Management.

The importance of faith

Sixty-four percent of Americans have been helped by their religious or spiritual faith during the coronavirus outbreak – including 35% who have been helped a lot and 29% who have been helped somewhat. Among those who attend church regularly, the proportion jumps to 68% who have been helped a lot, and 22% who have been helped somewhat. Forty-one percent of those who attend frequently have been helped a lot by their religious or spiritual faith, and another 45% have been helped somewhat. Even among those who rarely attend services, a majority report having been helped during these times by their faith.

Helped by Religious or Spiritual Faith during Coronavirus

			Attend religious services
	All		Never		Rarely		Frequently		Regularly
Helped a lot	35	%	12	%	23	%	41	%	68	%
Helped somewhat	29	%	18	%	32	%	45	%	22	%
Not helped	34	%	69	%	43	%	13	%	6	%

Religious denomination also makes a difference in the extent to which individuals have been helped by faith. Six-in-ten white evangelical Protestants have been helped a lot by their faith and another quarter have been helped somewhat. Just over three-quarters of mainline Protestants have been helped at least somewhat by their faith during the pandemic, as have 62% of Catholics. “Religious and spiritual faith is important sustenance for most Americans during this time of crisis,” says the poll’s director, Professor Monika McDermott. “Faith is helping them get through.”

Religious habits

Half of Americans have been praying for friends and family more than usual since the coronavirus outbreak, including 56% of Catholics, 60% of Protestants, and 68% of white evangelical Protestants. A similar 68% of those who attend religious services regularly are praying more frequently for family and friends. “Here again, we see Americans turning to faith, through more prayer for their loved ones, since the outbreak of the coronavirus,” explains McDermott.

In-person church services have dropped off as a result of the outbreak as 38% of Americans are attending less frequently. Fifty-six percent report no change. Just over a quarter are watching services more online or on television now than before the outbreak. Regular attendees have, of course, seen the largest drop-off in attendance: 67% say they are attending much less often, another 4% are attending somewhat less often and only 19% report no change. Fifty-five percent of these regular service attendees are watching online or television services more than usual.

The importance of religious leaders

While only 40% of Americans overall rate religious leaders as providing them important guidance during the virus outbreak, these proportions jump, not surprisingly, among the more religious. Among those who attend church regularly (at least weekly) 35% say that religious leaders have been very important to them personally as a source of guidance, and another 30% report religious leaders have been somewhat important to them. While well below the proportion who have turned to public health officials (45% very important), these numbers rival the second-most important source, state Governors (37% very important), and are equally important as friends and family (34%) for regular church attendees.

A majority of 56% of those who attend services regularly report that President Donald Trump has been an important source of guidance for them, as compared to only 44% of Americans overall. Two-thirds of white evangelical Protestants have found guidance during the crisis from President Trump.

[Questions 1 through 18 in separate release]

19. How important have each of the following been to you personally in providing guidance during the coronavirus crisis – very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not at all important?

[Item order randomized]
a. Your state governor

	Religiona										Attendanceb
	Total		White Evangelical Prot.		Protestant		Catholic		None		Never		Rarely		Frequently		Regularly
Very important	34	%	30	%	36	%	34	%	30	%	32	%	36	%	31	%	37	%
Somewhat important	40	%	45	%	41	%	38	%	41	%	38	%	44	%	42	%	35	%
Not very important	16	%	11	%	13	%	19	%	19	%	19	%	15	%	17	%	13	%
Not at all important	8	%	13	%	6	%	7	%	9	%	9	%	5	%	10	%	11	%
Don’t know/No answer	2	%	1	%	3	%	2	%	1	%	2	%	1	%	1	%	4	%

b. President Trump

	Religiona										Attendanceb
	Total		White Evangelical Prot.		Protestant		Catholic			None			Never		Rarely		Frequently		Regularly
Very important	19	%	35	%	16	%	20	%		10		%	15	%	18	%	19	%	24	%
Somewhat important	25	%	33	%	29	%	23	%		14		%	18	%	24	%	23	%	32	%
Not very important	19	%	17	%	20	%	14	%		23		%	20	%	21	%	22	%	12	%
Not at all important	36	%	15	%	31	%	42	%		54		%	46	%	37	%	35	%	27	%
Don’t know/No answer	2	%	1	%	4	%	1	%		0		%	1	%	1	%	1	%	5	%

c. Friends and family

	Religiona											Attendanceb
	Total		White Evangelical Prot.		Protestant		Catholic			None		Never		Rarely		Frequently		Regularly
Very important	31	%	35	%	16	%	20	%		10	%	28	%	30	%	35	%	34	%
Somewhat important	39	%	33	%	29	%	23	%		14	%	35	%	42	%	42	%	37	%
Not very important	22	%	17	%	20	%	14	%		23	%	26	%	22	%	19	%	20	%
Not at all important	6	%	15	%	31	%	42	%		54	%	10	%	6	%	3	%	4	%
Don’t know/No answer	2	%	1	%	4	%	1	%		0	%	2	%	1	%	1	%	4	%

d. Religious leaders

	Religiona					Attendanceb
	Total	White Evangelical Prot.	Protestant	Catholic	None	Never	Rarely	Frequently	Regularly
Very important	16%	21%	22%	11%	5%	6%	9%	18%	35%
Somewhat important	24%	38%	32%	19%	4%	5%	22%	42%	30%
Not very important	24%	27%	24%	26%	18%	22%	28%	21%	20%
Not at all important	34%	11%	20%	42%	73%	60%	40%	17%	11%
Don’t know/No answer	2%	2%	3%	2%	1%	2%	1%	3%	5%

e. Public health officials

	Religiona											Attendanceb
	Total		White Evangelical Prot.		Protestant		Catholic			None		Never		Rarely		Frequently		Regularly
Very important	45	%	35	%	44	%	44	%		10	%	48	%	44	%	45	%	45	%
Somewhat important	41	%	47	%	45	%	42	%		14	%	37	%	46	%	41	%	41	%
Not very important	8	%	16	%	6	%	5	%		23	%	7	%	7	%	10	%	8	%
Not at all important	4	%	2	%	3	%	7	%		54	%	6	%	2	%	3	%	4	%
Don’t know/No answer	2	%	0	%	3	%	2	%		0	%	2	%	1	%	1	%	2	%

20. Has your religious or spiritual faith helped you during the coronavirus outbreak, and if so, has it helped you a lot or somewhat?

	Religiona											Attendanceb
	Total		White Evangelical Prot.		Protestant		Catholic			None		Never		Rarely		Frequently		Regularly
Yes, helped a lot	35	%	63	%	42	%	23	%		4	%	12	%	23	%	41	%	68	%
Yes, helped somewhat	29	%	26	%	35	%	39	%		14	%	18	%	32	%	45	%	22	%
No, did not help	34	%	10	%	20	%	36	%		82	%	69	%	43	%	13	%	6	%
Don’t know/No answer	2	%	0	%	4	%	2	%		1	%	1	%	2	%	1	%	3	%

21. Have you been doing any of the following things much more often, somewhat more often, somewhat less often, or much less often than usual since the coronavirus outbreak, or has there been no change?

[Item order randomized]
a. Praying

	Religiona											Attendanceb
	Total		White Evangelical Prot.		Protestant		Catholic			None		Never		Rarely		Frequently		Regularly
Much more often	22	%	26	%	30	%	24	%		4	%	8	%	20	%	31	%	29	%
Somewhat more often	22	%	35	%	22	%	23	%		12	%	13	%	20	%	27	%	31	%
Somewhat less often	3	%	1	%	3	%	2	%		3	%	3	%	3	%	4	%	1	%
Much less often	2	%	3	%	1	%	1	%		3	%	3	%	1	%	2	%	1	%
No change	50	%	35	%	41	%	47	%		80	%	74	%	55	%	35	%	34	%
Don’t know/No answer	2	%	0	%	3	%	2	%		0	%	1	%	1	%	1	%	4	%

b. Praying for family and friends

	Religiona											Attendanceb
	Total		White Evangelical Prot.		Protestant		Catholic			None		Never		Rarely		Frequently		Regularly
Much more often	24	%	30	%	32	%	26	%		7	%	11	%	21	%	35	%	34	%
Somewhat more often	26	%	38	%	28	%	30	%		10	%	11	%	27	%	32	%	34	%
Somewhat less often	3	%	2	%	2	%	2	%		5	%	4	%	2	%	4	%	2	%
Much less often	1	%	3	%	0	%	2	%		2	%	2	%	1	%	2	%	1	%
No change	43	%	28	%	35	%	38	%		75	%	72	%	48	%	25	%	26	%
Don’t know/No answer	2	%	0	%	2	%	3	%		1	%	1	%	1	%	1	%	4	%

c. Attending religious services in person

	Religiona											Attendanceb
	Total		White Evangelical Prot.		Protestant		Catholic			None		Never		Rarely		Frequently		Regularly
Much more often	2	%	1	%	2	%	1	%		1	%	1	%	0	%	4	%	2	%
Somewhat more often	2	%	1	%	3	%	6	%		0	%	1	%	2	%	1	%	5	%
Somewhat less often	5	%	8	%	6	%	1	%		4	%	2	%	4	%	12	%	4	%
Much less often	33	%	56	%	35	%	36	%		8	%	7	%	19	%	48	%	67	%
No change	56	%	33	%	50	%	56	%		87	%	88	%	73	%	34	%	19	%
Don’t know/No answer	3	%	1	%	4	%	2	%		1	%	2	%	2	%	2	%	4	%

d. Watching religious services online or on TV

	Religiona											Attendanceb
	Total		White Evangelical Prot.		Protestant		Catholic			None		Never		Rarely		Frequently		Regularly
Much more often	15	%	29	%	17	%	14	%		1	%	2	%	6	%	23	%	35	%
Somewhat more often	13	%	16	%	18	%	14	%		1	%	2	%	9	%	25	%	20	%
Somewhat less often	4	%	5	%	3	%	5	%		4	%	4	%	5	%	3	%	2	%
Much less often	4	%	2	%	2	%	8	%		4	%	4	%	4	%	5	%	4	%
No change	62	%	47	%	56	%	59	%		89	%	89	%	75	%	43	%	35	%
Don’t know/No answer	2	%	0	%	3	%	1	%		1	%	1	%	1	%	1	%	4	%

e. Seeking guidance from religious leaders

Religiona										Attendanceb
	Total		White Evangelical Prot.		Protestant		Catholic				None		Never		Rarely		Frequently		Regularly
Much more often	5	%	3	%	17	%	14	%			1	%	2	%	6	%	2	%	10	%
Somewhat more often	19	%	15	%	18	%	14	%			2	%	2	%	5	%	17	%	16	%
Somewhat less often	5	%	2	%	3	%	5	%			4	%	4	%	4	%	9	%	3	%
Much less often	5	%	4	%	2	%	8	%			3	%	4	%	4	%	7	%	7	%
No change	73	%	74	%	56	%	59	%			88	%	89	%	80	%	62	%	60	%
Don’t know/No answer	3	%	2	%	3	%	1	%			2	%	1	%	1	%	3	%	5	%

^a White evangelical Protestants are those who self-identify as a born-again or evangelical Christian, and white, non-Hispanic. Protestants are those who do not identify as born-again or evangelical, or who are non-white.
^b Never = never attends religious services; Infrequently = attends less than once a year or only a few times a year; frequently = those who attend services monthly or a few times a month; regularly = those who attend weekly or more often.

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The nationwide poll was part of an omnibus survey conducted April 16-20, 2020 using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,003 adults. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.33 percentage points.
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Contact:
Professor Monika McDermott
(917)747-1987 (cell)
mmcdermott@fordham.edu

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