Religious fundamentalists would have us believe that the most important thing necessary to have a happy life is religion (specifically the christian religion). They think religion is so important that it should be forced on all citizens in schools and at public events (including government-sponsered events). And they don't care that it's unconstitutional, because they would like to replace the Constitution with the Bible anyway.
Fortunately, most Americans don't agree with them. In fact, every single age group in the United States has only 19% or less that rates religion as most important to have a happy life -- while every single age group has a larger percentage saying religion is the least important thing necessary for a happy life. And each generation has a bigger percentage saying it is least important -- from 22% among those 65 & older to 46% among those 18 to 29.
This shouldn't really surprise anyone, since this mirrors the results of polls that say each generation is less religious than the one before it. The fact is, whether the fundamentalists want to admit it or not, that this is a secular country -- and it is becoming more so with each generation. While about 80% of the population claims to be at least somewhat religious, less than a quarter of that percentage consider religion important enough to rule how they live their lives or would want religion to determine the laws they must live under.
Here are how demographic groups other than age view the question of whether religion is most or least important to live a happy life:
These charts were made from information in a recent YouGov Poll -- taken between March 14th and 16th of 1,000 nationwide adults (with a margin of error between 3.5 and 4.0 points).
