Americans in general prefer to share politics more than their religion when talking to their friends, a new survey showed.
Lifeway Research's online survey among 1,004 Americans showed that six of 10 are more comfortable talking about politics than their religious beliefs, adding that they are not interested in having more spiritual talks.
On the other hand, with a 2-to-1 margin, evangelical Christians like talking about God over politics.
"People tend to discuss the things that matter most to them," said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research. "For evangelicals, that is their faith," he added.
Researchers also compared how often Americans talk to other people about politics and religion.
A total of 64 percent or two-thirds said they had at least three conversations about politics in the last month while 8 percent said they had no conversation about politics.
In contrast, 44 percent said they had three or more conversations about religion while 20 percent said they had none in the last month.
Overall, 6 in 10 Americans or 59 percent said they prefer to discuss political views than religious beliefs.
By comparison, women (51 percent) who go to church at least once a week (57 percent), and those with evangelical beliefs (63 percent) prefer to talk about their religious views.
About 69 percent of men and those who don't have evangelical beliefs (65 percent) prefer to talk about politics.
The survey also showed that about half (51 percent) said they have "just the right amount" of discussions on spiritual beliefs while 23 percent want fewer spiritual discussions and only 1 in 5 wants more.
Three in 10 (29 percent) churchgoers who attend at least once a week said they want fewer spiritual conversations and 26 percent want more spiritual conversations.
But many Americans are open to hearing what other people say about religion.
A total of 52 percent believe they have as much to find out as they do to share during a spiritual conversation. About 26 percent said they have more to find out.
Evangelicals, the survey said, are more likely to believe they have more to share (32 percent) in a religious conversation. About 33 of frequent churchgoers also believe they have more to share.
This does not surprise McConnell as sharing one's faith in order to convert others is a core evangelical belief.
A total of 38 percent said they are comfortable sharing their religious beliefs on social media while 36 percent said they are not.
Three-quarters would prefer discussing their beliefs one-on-one (40 percent) or in a small group (33 percent).
