Executive Summary
Religious Perceptions in America: With an In-Depth Analysis of U.S.

Attitudes Toward Muslims and Islam is a study of Americans’ opinions regarding a number of world religions with a special focus on Islam and Muslims. The results are based on the Gallup World Religion Survey, which explores Americans’ opinions of four major religions — Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism — and their followers. This analysis examines Americans’ self-reported level of prejudice toward members of those faiths.

Of the faiths Gallup asked Americans about, Islam elicits the most negative views. A slight majority of Americans (53%) say their opinion of the faith is either “not too favorable” (22%) or “not favorable at all” (31%). When asked about their level of knowledge about Islam, many Americans tell Gallup they have either “very little knowledge” (40%) or “none at all” (23%). The study also reveals that Americans view Islam more negatively than they view Muslims.

When it comes to the followers of Islam, Americans are more than twice as likely to express negative feelings about Muslims as they are about Buddhists, Christians, and Jews. Forty-three percent of Americans admit to feeling at least “a little” prejudice toward Muslims, with 9% telling Gallup they feel “a great deal” of prejudice. Fifty-seven percent of Americans report they do not feel any prejudice. The study also explores what Americans think most Muslims around the world believe. Majorities of Americans disagree with the statements that most Muslims are accepting of other religions (66%) and that Christians’ and Muslims’ religious beliefs are basically the same (68%). While a majority of Americans (70%) agree that most Muslims want peace, more than one in four (27%) disagree. Additionally, 81% of the American public disagrees with the statement that most Muslims believe women and men should have equal rights, and 47% disagree with the statement that most Muslims around the world are accepting of others from different races.

Gallup used multivariate logistic regression to examine the attitudes and characteristics significantly associated with Americans’ self-reports of feeling “a great deal” of prejudice toward Muslims. Among the top variables, respondents who report “a great deal” of prejudice toward Jews are about 32 times as likely to report the same level of prejudice toward Muslims. Furthermore, respondents who say Muslims’ and Christians’ beliefs are not the same and those who say their opinion of Islam is “not favorable at all” are almost five times as likely to report “a great deal” of prejudice toward Muslims. Respondents who disagree with the statement that most Muslims around the world want peace, as well as those who disagree that most Muslims are accepting of other racial groups, are more than twice as likely to express “a great deal” of prejudice.

Notably, those who report they do not know a Muslim are twice as likely to express “a great deal” of prejudice. Counterintuitively, knowing the name of Islam’s prophet makes someone more than twice as likely to express “a great deal” of prejudice. Self-reported attendance of a religious service less than once a week is also associated with reporting. The variable most strongly associated with no self-reported prejudice toward Muslims is no self-reported prejudice toward Jews. Those who report feeling no prejudice toward Jews are more than 11 times as likely to report feeling the same about Muslims. Americans who say they view Islam very favorably are more than twice as likely to report feeling no prejudice toward Muslims. Americans who agree most Muslims believe in equal rights for women and those who agree most Muslims want peace are also more than twice as likely to report feeling no prejudice toward Muslims. Americans who say they attend religious services more than once a week are more than twice as likely to say they feel no prejudice toward Muslims, countering popular assumptions that religious devotion contributes to having negative opinions about people of another faith.

Foreword

In a historic speech at Cairo University, U.S. President Barack Obama stated, “The interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.” The Cairo speech, intended to launch a new chapter in U.S.-Muslim relations, emphasized the need for mutual respect and understanding. Several high-level efforts, most notably the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, strive to build bridges between religions and cultures. In addition to international programs, countless initiatives at the local level aim to bring citizens of various backgrounds together to build trust and social cohesion. However, bridge-building across religions and cultures will require concerted efforts not only from heads of state, but also from citizens through people-to-people diplomatic efforts. Therefore, it is important for leaders and policy-makers engaged in Muslim outreach to understand the American public’s perceptions of Muslims and Islam. This study explores questions such as, “Is Americans’ self-reported prejudice toward Muslims pervasive?” “Is there any relationship between Americans’ prejudice toward Muslims and their prejudice toward Jews?” “Are Americans’ perceptions about Muslims’ attitudes toward gender equality associated with prejudice?” The data shed light on these questions and many more. Gallup’s studies of more than 40 predominantly Muslim countries and the U.S. reveal Americans and many of the world’s Muslims already share much common ground upon which to foster dialogue. Muslims in the countries surveyed tell Gallup that what they admire most about the West are technology and democracy. When Americans are asked to describe what they most admire about the West, their top responses are the same as Muslims’, in reverse order. Additionally, Americans and Muslims around the world strongly support eradicating extremism and majorities within both groups view religion as an important part of their lives. This report is one in a series of reports produced by the Muslim West Facts Project. We would like to thank our Muslim West Facts Project partners, the Coexist Foundation, for supporting the dissemination of Gallup’s independent research, including this report. We would also like to acknowledge the work of the many people who made this research possible, starting with Magali Rheault, Mohamed Younis, Sofia Kluch, Eric Olesen, and Ken Kluch for their tireless effort on the writing and analysis in this report. In addition, we are indebted to Jim Clifton, Gale Muller, Frank Newport, Steve Hanway, and Robi Manchin for their review and constructive feedback. Our gratitude also goes to Julie Ray, Samantha Allemang, Ben Klima, Jessica Stutzman, and Bryant Ott for contributing their invaluable talents to editing and design.

DALIA MOGAHED
Senior Analyst and Executive Director
Gallup Center for Muslim Studies

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