How America has changed during the “fundamental transformation” promised by candidate Obama in 2008.
A new Gallup poll reveals 60% of respondents would vote for a Muslim running for president, while 58% would support an atheist.
The Gallup survey asked: “Between now and the 2016 political conventions, there will be discussion about the qualifications of presidential candidates — their education, age, religion, race and so on. If your party nominated a generally well-qualified person for president who happened to be an atheist, would you vote for that person?”
Forty percent of responding Americans said they would not vote for an atheist, Newsmax reports.
The Gallup results reflect a growing consensus for a non-religious candidate.
In 1958, 18% of respondents said they would vote for an atheist, while 75% would not.
In 2007, 45% said they’d support an atheist while 53% said they wouldn’t.
In 2012 — the last time the question was asked — 54% said they’d vote for an atheist. About 43% said they wouldn’t.
A potential atheist candidate would attract the largest share of support from younger voters. Seventy-five percent of voters 18 to 29 years old said would vote for a non-religious candidate. Conversely, voters over the age of 65 said they would support an atheist one.
Democrats were more willing to support an atheist — 64% said they would — compared to 45% of Republicans.
The survey also found:
- 93% would vote for a Catholic
- 91% would support a Jewish candidate
- 81% would vote for a Mormon
- 73% would support an evangelical Christian
- 60% would vote for a Muslim
Fifty-nine percent of Democrats said they would vote for a socialist candidate for president while — shockingly — 26% of Republicans said they would support a socialist.
“The general trend is that Americans have become significantly more accepting over time,” the Gallup poll concludes.
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