A new poll finds Americans’ attitudes towards Islam have grown more negative over the last few years, and that was before the dramatic rise of ISIS and the terrorist attacks in Paris.
Today, a majority of Americans — 56% — believe “the values of Islam are at odds with American values and way of life,” while 41% disagree.
That’s a nine percentage point jump in two years, when the same question was asked in 2013, it was 47% vs. 44%, according to the Public Religion Research Institute.
The poll finds 73% of white evangelical Protestant voters say Islamic values are at odds, the largest percentage by religious affiliation. Sixty-three percent of white “mainline” Protestants and 61% of Catholics concur.
A majority of Americans — 62% — also believe terrorism is a “critical issue.” Both a majority of Republicans (79%) and Democrats (53%) agree.
The Watertown Daily Times reports in 2011, the PRRI survey found, “three in 10 Americans said American Muslims want to establish Sharia law, four in 10 were uncomfortable with Muslim elementary school teachers, and nearly half said they’d be uncomfortable if a mosque were built near their home.”
Leave a Comment
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.