SAN QUENTIN, CALIFORNIA SEPTEMBER 21, 2010–A view of the new lethal injection chamber at San Quentin State Prison. The new facility costs $853. Credit: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/Getty

A majority of adults in the United States favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. However, views about the death penalty vary by religion – with atheists and agnostics opposing this form of punishment at about the same rate as Americans overall support it.

Atheists oppose the death penalty about as strongly as Protestants favor it

Roughly two-thirds of atheists (65%) and six-in-ten agnostics (57%) either “strongly” or “somewhat” oppose the death penalty for people convicted of murder. Atheists and agnostics are small religious groups, representing less than 10% of the adult population, but their share has grown in recent years.

Meanwhile, 60% of U.S. adults overall favor the death penalty, including 75% of White evangelical Protestants and 73% of White non-evangelical Protestants, according to the survey, which was conducted in early April. White Protestants account for about 29% […]

Read the Full Article