of 1 6 In September 2016, the Bridge Initiative released a report entitled “Danger and Dialogue: American Catholic Public Opinion & Portrayals of Islam.” The report included findings from the first-ever nationwide poll of English-speaking, U.S. Catholics on their views of Islam, Muslims, and interreligious dialogue. The report presented the survey findings on the views of American Catholics as a whole. Since its release, we’ve received numerous requests to have the data broken down by age and race/ethnicity. Our colleagues at the Center for Applied Research on the Apostolate (CARA), who conducted the survey for us, provided the cross tabs to us so we could better understand potential differences in views across age and race/ ethnicity. This addendum to our Danger and Dialogue report provides new insights about how Catholics’ views on Islam differ (or don’t) across age and racial groups. We hope it will be helpful to parishes, journalists, educators, clergy, and lay Catholics who want to better understand U.S. Catholics’ views of Muslims The poll surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,027 English-speaking Catholics, ages 18 and over. It was conducted from April 9, 2015 to April 14, 2015. (Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number.) For more information on the polling methodology, see the endnotes our original report. MAIN TAKEAWAYS ● Across the age spectrum, Catholics have similar impressions of Muslims. In every age group, more Catholics report negative views than positive ones. ● Younger Catholics aren’t very different from older Catholics when it comes to knowing someone who is Muslim personally. One third of younger Catholics know someone who is Muslim personally, compared to one fourth of Catholics 60 years and over. ● Younger Catholics participate in interfaith dialogue and community service with Muslims more than older Catholics. They are more likely than older Catholics to say that Christians and Muslims worship the same God and share many values. ● When grouped by race/ethnic background, Catholics who know Muslims more personally do not have more favorable views of Muslims, nor are they more religiously literate, than groups less familiar with Muslims. The Bridge Initiative | bridge.georgetown.edu | #CatholicMuslimBridge | @bridgeinit | [email protected]U.S. CATHOLICS’ VIEWS OF MUSLIMS NEW SURVEY FINDINGS Broken down by age and ethnicity "Usually when CARA looks at Catholic data there are huge differences by age, ethnicity.… We don't see the same differences in this survey that we'd expect. This shows that the attitudes/beliefs are generally widespread across the population." - Mark Gray, PhD, Director of CARA Catholic Polls (CCP) and a Senior Research Associate at CARA
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In September 2016, the Bridge Initiative released a report entitled “Danger and Dialogue: American Catholic Public Opinion & Portrayals of Islam.” The report included findings from the first-ever nationwide poll of English-speaking, U.S. Catholics on their views of Islam, Muslims, and interreligious dialogue.
The report presented the survey findings on the views of American Catholics as a whole. Since its release, we’ve received numerous requests to have the data broken down by age and race/ethnicity. Our colleagues at the Center for Applied Research on the Apostolate (CARA), who conducted the survey for us, provided the cross tabs to us so we could better understand potential differences in views across age and race/ethnicity.
This addendum to our Danger and Dialogue report provides new insights about how Catholics’ views on Islam differ (or don’t) across age and racial groups. We hope it will be helpful to parishes, journalists, educators, clergy, and lay Catholics who want to better understand U.S. Catholics’ views of Muslims
The poll surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,027 English-speaking Catholics, ages 18 and over. It was conducted from April 9, 2015 to April 14, 2015. (Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number.) For more information on the polling methodology, see the endnotes our original report.
MAIN TAKEAWAYS
● Across the age spectrum, Catholics have similar impressions of Muslims. In every age group, more Catholics report negative views than positive ones.
● Younger Catholics aren’t very different from older Catholics when it comes to knowing someone who is Muslim personally. One third of younger Catholics know someone who is Muslim personally, compared to one fourth of Catholics 60 years and over.
● Younger Catholics participate in interfaith dialogue and community service with Muslims more than older Catholics. They are more likely than older Catholics to say that Christians and Muslims worship the same God and share many values.
● When grouped by race/ethnic background, Catholics who know Muslims more personally do not have more favorable views of Muslims, nor are they more religiously literate, than groups less familiar with Muslims.
U.S. CATHOLICS’ VIEWS OF MUSLIMS NEW SURVEY FINDINGS Broken down by age and ethnicity
"Usually when CARA looks at Catholic data there are huge differences by age, ethnicity.… We don't see the same differences in this survey that we'd expect. This shows that the attitudes/beliefs are generally widespread across the population."
Breakdowns by age CARA breaks down Catholics into four age groups: 18 to 29, 30 to 44, 45 to 59, and 60 and over.
Younger Catholics aren’t very different from older Catholics when it comes to knowing someone who is Muslim personally. A third (34%) of 18 to 29-year-olds and 30 to 44-year-olds know a Muslim personally, compared to one-quarter (25%) of those 60 and over. 31% of Catholics aged 45 - 59 say the know a Muslim personally. (See Figure 1).
Figure 1
Catholic young adults (18 - 29) are more than twice as likely to participate in dialogue and community service opportunities (13%) as Catholics in older age groups. 6% of Catholics aged 30 - 44 and 45 - 59 have participated in these activities. 3% of those over 60 have.
Across the age spectrum, Catholics have similar impressions of Muslims as a group. Favorable impressions of Muslims among the age groups vary little — between 14% and 16% (the margin of error is ± 3.1). Catholics aged 60 and over have the most explicitly negative views of Muslims; 37% report having unfavorable views. But young Catholics’ views don’t differ by much; 31% of them admit to unfavorable views of Muslims. The age group with the smallest percentage responding unfavorably were those between 30 and 44 (24%). In every age group, more Catholics report negative views of Muslims
than positive ones. (See Figure 2 on page 3 below.)
Figure 2 (Responses “very favorable” and “somewhat favorable” have been grouped together, as have “very unfavorable” and “somewhat unfavorable” responses.)
Views on Islam and violence vary by age. Respondents were asked if they think Islam encourages more, the same, or less than other religions. Half (51%) of those over 60 said that Islam encourages violence “more” than other religions, compared to only 35% of 18 to 29-year-olds. Catholics aged 18 to 29 are the group who most thinks Islam encourages violence the “same” as other religions, compared to only one-in-five (20%) of those over 60.
Less than half of each age group believes that Catholicism and Islam share many common values, but younger Catholics are more likely than older Catholics to believe that. Nearly half (47%) of those 18 to 29 agree there are many shared values, whereas one-third (34%) of those 60 and older agree. Catholics 18 to 29 believe more strongly agree than other age groups that Catholics and Muslims worship the same God. 41% of them agree (18% strongly), whereas only 29% of each older age group agree.
Young Catholics are more likely than older ones to agree that Muslims have sufficiently condemned terrorism. Younger Catholics also place less of the blame for poor Muslim-Christian relations on Muslims than older groups do.
The older a Catholic is, the more likely he/she is to agree that Muslims can go to Heaven. Two-thirds (62%) of Catholics over age 60 agree, whereas 48% of those 18 to 29 agree.
Breakdowns by race/ethnicity Respondents were broken down into five racial/ethnic categories: Hispanic, White (non-Hispanic), Black (non-Hispanic), other (non-Hispanic, non-White, non-Black), and 2+ races (non-Hispanic.) We refer to these demographic categories below using the following short hands: Hispanic, White, Black, ‘other,’ and multi-racial.
Half of Black Catholics (50%) know a Muslim personally. Less than a third of White and Hispanic Catholics know a Muslim personally, 29% and 28% respectively. Over one-third of multi-racial Catholics know a Muslim (38%). A majority of those of ‘other’ racial backgrounds (62%) know personally
someone who is Muslim. (See Figure 3).
Figure 3
Catholics who identify as multi-racial (18%), Black (11%), or an ‘other’ racial background (11%) have participated in dialogue or community service with Muslims more than White (7%) and Hispanic Catholics (4%).
Ten percent of Black Catholics report that their parish has had an event on Islam or Muslims in the last five years. That’s compared to only zero to two percent of Catholics from other racial/ethnic groups.
The group that has the most favorable view of Muslims are multi-racial Catholics. Twenty-nine percent of them responded that they have favorable views of Muslims. Fourteen percent of White Catholics, 13% of Hispanic, and 11% Black Catholics responded favorably. Only 5% of those from ‘other’ racial backgrounds have expressly favorable views. (This is the group that knows Muslims best – 62% of Catholics from ‘other’ racial backgrounds know a Muslim personally.) The group with the most explicitly “unfavorable” view of Muslims are Black Catholics, half of whom know a Muslim personally; 37% admitted to having an unfavorable view of Muslims overall. Contrary to what some might expect, Catholic racial/ethnic groups who know Muslims more personally do not have more favorable views of Muslims. A majority of Catholics from ‘other’ racial background (58%) agree that Islam encourages violence more than other religions. About half (48%) of White Catholics agree with this, as do 40% of Hispanic Catholics. Less than a third of Black Catholics and those from multi-racial backgrounds agree (29%). Those of multiple races are the Catholic group that most agrees that Christians and Muslims believe in the same God. 37% of them feel this way. 34% of Hispanic Catholics agree, and 31% of White Catholics. Black Catholics (18%) and those of ‘other’ races/ethnicities (27%) agree the least, and are the two groups that best know Muslims personally. 60% of Catholics of ‘other’ races actively disagree that Catholics and Muslims believe in the same God. Contrary to what some might expect, Catholic racial/ethnic groups who know Muslims more personally are not more religiously literate than groups less familiar with Muslims. Far more Black Catholics and Catholics from ‘other’ racial backgrounds know Muslims personally than their White or Hispanic counterparts do. Yet, in answers to numerous questions we asked about Islamic belief and practice, Catholics from Black and ‘other’ racial backgrounds demonstrated that in general they are not more religiously literate about Islam that groups that have less familiarity with Muslims.
White and Hispanic Catholics are the two groups that most agree that “Muslims have sufficiently condemned terrorism in the name of Islam.” Majorities of Black Catholics, multi-racial Catholics, and Catholics of ‘other’ races disagree with this statement. A majority of all Catholic racial/ethnic groups, with the exception of Hispanic Catholics, agree that American Muslims today face prejudices similar to those American Catholics faced in the past. Multi-racial Catholics are the group to most agree with this statement; two-thirds (66%) of them agree. Slightly less than half (46%) of Hispanic Catholics agree.
When grouped by race/ethnic background, Catholics who know Muslims more personally do not have more favorable views of Muslims, nor are they more religiously literate, than racial/ethnic groups less familiar with Muslims.
When asked if they agree with this statement, “The religious liberty of Muslims is endangered in America,” White, Black, and Hispanic Catholics disagreed more than they agreed with it. A large majority of Catholics from ‘other’ racial/ethnic backgrounds (87%) disagreed. A majority of Catholics from ‘other’ racial/ethnic backgrounds (60%) and multi-racial Catholics (57%) agreed that Catholics and Muslims share many common values. Minorities of Hispanic (42%), White (37%), and Black (36%) Catholics agree. The groups that most actively disagree with this statement are Black Catholics (46%) and multi-racial Catholics (43%). A quarter of White and Hispanic Catholics are unsure and responded “don’t know.”
This addendum was released on April 3, 2017. The original Danger and Dialogue report was
published on September 12, 2016.
Questions? Interested in learning more? Check out the full report, or reach out to Bridge Initiative Research Fellow, Jordan Denari Duffner.
