American Muslims, as a whole, are more attuned to the Bill of Rights, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the ethics of liberty than evangelical Christians and other right-leaning sects. In 2015, Pew released the findings of another Religious Landscape Study. Over 35,000 Americans participated. It turns out evangelicals are more hostile to the principles of liberty than American Muslims.
Just 36 percent of evangelicals accept LGBT people in American society while 45 percent of American Muslims do. On accepting same-sex marriage, only 28 percent of evangelicals do while 42 percent of American Muslims do. American Muslims are also more supportive of reproductive rights. Just 33 percent of evangelicals believe abortion should be legal. With American Muslims, it’s 55 percent.
What percentage think having women in the workplace is a change for the better? With Christian evangelicals it’s 55 percent and with American Muslims, it’s 67 percent. All Christians came up short of American Muslims at 64 percent.
Only 38 percent of evangelicals accept evolution, while 53 percent of America’s Muslims do. When asked if stricter environmental regulations were worth the cost, 45 percent of evangelicals said yes while 67 percent of American Muslims agreed.
When asked about government aid to the poor, 56 percent of evangelicals said it does more harm than good. Only 30 percent of American Muslims agreed. When asked about their political views, 72 percent of American Muslims considered themselves moderate or liberal. With evangelicals, it was 40 percent. With all Christians the figure was 50 percent.
JAMES VEVERKA
Tilton