Florida wants more religion in schools. But here’s where most people draw the line
As Florida education leaders signal openness to expanding religious expression in public schools, a recent survey finds broad support for school prayer in public schools — but only if it is optional.
The survey, released by the Pew Research Center in April 2026, sheds light on how Americans feel about different aspects of religious expression in public schools, and comes at a time when more states are passing faith-friendly legislation for public schools nationwide. Last week, Florida education officials indicated the state could be open to policies similar to those adopted by the Texas Board of Education, which recently approved Bible passages as required reading for public school students. Texas also required the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools last year.
The survey found that 78% of U.S. adults favor allowing students to voluntarily pray in student-led groups. Half of all Americans approve of displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms and 46% want to allow teachers to lead their classes in prayer. But only a small fraction of those who support teacher-led prayer believe students should be required to take part, highlighting the potential challenges facing further efforts to increase religious activity in public schools.
Florida has been highly focused on passing policies that advocate for freedom of religious expression in schools, including efforts to protect prayer in schools and making it easier for students to be excused during class for religious instruction.
In March, Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas sent a letter to all parents reminding them that prayer and religious expression are allowed in public schools. The commissioner also introduced a new way for parents to file complaints to the department if they suspect someone’s right to religious expression is being suppressed.
Locally, the Miami-Dade County School Board voted this year for the fifth year in a row to recognize the National Day of Prayer in the district’s public schools.
Although the survey shows that most Americans approve of religious expression in schools, there’s one important caveat: The support for religious expression is contingent on whether it’s voluntary or mandatory, said the survey’s lead researcher, Chip Rotolo.
“The vast majority said, “Oh, well, teachers should be able to lead their classes in prayer, but only if students are not required to participate,” said Rotolo.
Only 8% of Americans who favor teacher-led prayer believe it should be mandatory for students.
Many more people (53%) said they favor teacher-led prayer but only if it is not mandatory for students to participate. And 37% say teacher-led prayer should not be allowed at all.
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“I think it’s pretty clear at the national level that many Americans do support some forms of religious expression in public schools … but it varies widely by the type of religious expression, and it varies widely by whether students are required to participate or not required to participate,” Rotolo said.
Floridians favor Christian prayer in schools
Floridians revealed their opinions about prayer in school in Pew’s Religious Landscape Study, a survey of nearly 37,000 U.S. adults in all 50 states that was conducted in 2023-2024.
When it comes to prayer specific to Christianity, 56% of the people surveyed who live in Florida said they are in favor of allowing public school teachers to lead their classes in prayers that refer to Jesus, according to the study.
That number jumps to 62% when Floridians were asked if they favor allowing teachers to lead classes in prayers that refer to God but not to any specific religion. The survey did not ask about teacher-led prayer for minority religions, like Judaism or Islam, but Rotolo suspects the support would differ drastically.
In 22 states — including Florida — more adults say they favor allowing teachers to lead their classes in prayers that refer to Jesus than say they oppose it. That support is particularly high in Southern states like Mississippi (81%), Alabama (75%), Arkansas (75%).
Broadly, more than half of Americans support allowing teacher-led prayer in public schools, whether that be praying to Jesus explicitly (52%) or praying to God without mentioning any specific religion (57%), while 46% of adults oppose allowing public school teachers to lead their classes in Christian prayer.
This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and donors in South Florida’s Jewish and Muslim communities, including Khalid and Diana Mirza and the Mohsin and Fauzia Jaffer Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Florida wants more religion in schools. But here’s where most people draw the line."
