Seventy percent (70%) of Americans say that being a father is the most important role for a man to fill in today’s world. A recent Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 16% disagree. These figures are down slightly from last year.

Last month, our Mother’s Day survey found that 66% believed that “being a mother was the most important role for a woman to fill.”

Americans are evenly split on the importance of Father’s Day. Twenty-one percent (21%) believe the holiday is one of the most important holidays. The same percentage consider Father’s Day the least important holiday. Fifty-six percent (56%) regard the day as somewhere in between most important and least important. These figures are relatively unchanged from last year’s survey.

Among those Americans whose father is still alive, 58% say they will visit their fathers on Father’s Day. Our survey also found that 29% will call their dads on Sunday, while 12% don’t intend to call or visit.

Men are a bit more likely to visit their fathers on the big day than women.

Finally, most (57%) adults say they will buy their father a gift to celebrate the holiday. Thirty-five percent (35%) won’t purchase a present. In an interesting twist, women are more likely to buy a present for their dads than men.