Importance of religion in one's life among adults in the West by views about government aid to the poor (2014) Switch to: Views about government aid to the poor among adults in the West by importance of religion

% of adults in the West who say religion is…

Views about government aid to the poorVery importantSomewhat importantNot too importantNot at all importantDon't knowSample size
Does more harm than good53%26%11%10%< 1%3,621
Does more good than harm42%25%15%17%1%4,372
Neither/both equally50%23%14%11%2%323
Don't know51%19%12%10%8%182
Sample sizes and margins of error vary from subgroup to subgroup, from year to year and from state to state. You can see the sample size for the estimates in this chart on rollover or in the last column of the table. And visit this table to see approximate margins of error for a group of a given size. Readers should always bear in mind the approximate margin of error for the group they are examining when making comparisons with other groups or assessing the significance of trends over time. For full question wording, see the survey questionnaire.

Learn More: Very important, Somewhat important, Not too important, Not at all important