The May 2023 Mood of the Nation Poll found that:

• Thirty-two percent of Americans oppose work exemptions under all circumstances.

• Only one in five Americans believe that religious work exemptions should be granted when doing so would impose major costs on the government.

According to judicial scholar Michael Nelson, Director of the Center for American Political Responsiveness, “A big trend in the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence in recent years has been an increase in the protections religious Americans should receive. It’s surprising to see such a gap between the attitudes of the people the Court’s rulings are protecting and the direction of the Court’s rulings.”

This could have important implications according to Nelson: “If the Supreme Court should take the position that workers are entitled to work exemptions even when the employer or co-workers have to endure additional cost and inconvenience, it may further erode public support for the Court.”

Read the full report from APM Research Lab.