White Evangelicals More Likely to Watch Fox, Fear Shari’ah
Public Religion Research Institute is out with a new poll on Americans’ attitudes towards the hearings planned by House Homeland Security Committee Chair Rep. Peter King (R-NY) into what he claims is extremism in the American Muslim community.
While the headline on the survey results is “Majority of Americans Say Congressional Hearings on Alleged Extremism In Muslim Communities Are ‘Good Idea,’” the data actually show not that many respondents had actually heard about King’s hearings. The group that was most likely to have heard about them: Fox News viewers.
“Very few have heard about the King hearings,” said Robert P. Jones, president of PRRI. “Only one-third have heard anything at all, and 65% said they’d heard nothing at all.” The survey shows, said Jones, a “context of low information.”
Although 56% said they thought the hearings were a “good idea,” seven out of 10 respondents said the hearings shouldn’t single out Muslim extremism. When asked whether hearings should focus on religious extremism, not just Muslim extremism, said Jones, 72% agreed. They “don’t want Congress to be bigoted,” he added.