Religion

Polls listed chronologically. Data are from nationwide surveys of Americans 18 & older.

ABC News/Washington Post Poll. March 26-29, 2009. N=1,000 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.
					.
"Do you feel you do or do not have a good basic understanding of the teachings and beliefs of Islam, the Muslim religion?"
					.
		Do	Do Not	Unsure
		%	%	%
	3/26-29/09	45	55	-
	9/5-7/06	40	58	2
	3/2-5/06	40	59	1
	9/03	33	64	3
					.
"Would you say you have a generally favorable or unfavorable opinion of Islam?"
					.
		Favorable	Unfavorable	Unsure
		%	%	%
	3/26-29/09	41	48	11
	9/5-7/06	41	45	14
	3/2-5/06	43	46	11
	9/03	39	38	23
					.
"Every religion has mainstream beliefs, and also fringe elements or extremists. Thinking of mainstream Islam, do you think mainstream Islam encourages violence against non-Muslims, or is it a peaceful religion?"
					.
		Encourages Violence	Peaceful	Unsure
		%	%	%
	3/26-29/09	29	58	13
	9/5-7/06	33	54	13
	3/2-5/06	33	54	13
					.
"Do you personally know anyone who is a Muslim, or not?"
					.
		Yes	No	Unsure
		%	%	%
	3/26-29/09	47	53	1
	10/1	41	58	1

Gallup Poll. Dec. 4-7, 2008. N=1,009 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.
						.
"At the present time, do you think religion as a whole is increasing its influence on American life or losing its influence?"

		Increasing	Losing	Same (vol.)	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	12/4-7/08	27	67	2	3
	12/02	43	51	3	3
	3/02	53	42	2	3
	12/01	71	24	2	3
	2/01	39	55	3	3
	8/00	35	58	4	3
	3/00	37	58	-	5
	12/99	40	54	3	3
	5/99	32	62	3	3
	6/98	37	56	4	3
	1/98	48	48	1	3
	1990	33	48	8	11
	1985	48	39	10	3
	1980	35	46	11	8
	1978	37	48	10	5
	1970	14	75	7	4
	1965	33	45	13	8
	1957	69	14	10	6

"Do you believe that religion can answer all or most of today's problems, or that religion is largely old-fashioned and out of date?"

		Can Answer	Out of Date	Other (vol.)/ Unsure
		%	%	%
	12/4-7/08	53	28	19
	12/02	59	24	17
	3/02	66	20	14
	12/01	61	21	18
	2/01	63	22	15
	8/00	63	17	20
	3/00	66	21	13
	12/99	68	19	13
	5/99	66	21	11
	6/98	63	20	17
	1/98	67	20	13
	1990	63	18	19
	1985	58	24	18
	1974	62	20	18
	1957	82	7	11

Quinnipiac University Poll. July 8-13, 2008. N=1,783 registered voters nationwide. MoE ą 2.3.
					.
"Do you support or oppose giving federal money to faith-based organizations, such as churches or synagogues, to help them run social programs?"
					.
		Support	Oppose	Unsure
		%	%	%
	7/8-13/08	53	41	5
					.
"Do you think that these faith-based organizations that receive federal money should be able to discriminate in favor of hiring people of their own faith?"
					.
		Yes	No	Unsure
		%	%	%
	7/8-13/08	16	77	7

ABC News/Washington Post Poll. April 10-13, 2008. N=1,197 adults nationwide (MoE ą 3), including, with an oversample, 292 Catholics (MoE ą 5.5). Fieldwork by TNS.
					.
"Do you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of Pope Benedict the 16th?"
					.
		Favorable	Unfavorable	Unsure
		%	%	%
	ALL	48	24	28
	Catholics	74	13	14
					.
Asked of Catholics: "Do you think Pope Benedict should maintain the traditional policies of the Church, or should he change Church policies to reflect the attitudes and lifestyles of Catholics today?" Options rotated
					.
		Maintain	Change	Unsure
		%	%	%
	4/10-13/08	50	45	5
	4/05	50	48	1
					.
Asked of Catholics: "In general, do you think the Roman Catholic Church is in touch with the views of Catholics in America today, or is it out of touch?"
					.
		In Touch	Out of Touch	Unsure
		%	%	%
	4/10-13/08	34	62	4
	4/05	44	52	4
	10/03	34	62	3
	10/95	38	58	5
					.
Asked of Catholics: "Currently, Roman Catholic priests cannot get married. Do you favor or oppose that policy?"
					.
		Favor	Oppose	Unsure
		%	%	%
	4/10-13/08	36	60	4
	10/03	30	67	2
	10/95	37	61	1
					.
Asked of Catholics: "Currently, women cannot become priests in the Roman Catholic Church. Do you favor or oppose that policy?"
					.
		Favor	Oppose	Unsure
		%	%	%
	4/10-13/08	36	60	3
	10/03	32	64	4
	3/02	35	61	4
	10/95	33	65	2
					.
"Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Catholic Church has handled the issue of sexual abuse of children by priests?"
					.
		Approve	Disapprove	Unsure
		%	%	%
	ALL	17	74	9
	Catholics	24	73	3

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Bill McInturff (R). Dec. 14-17, 2007. N=1,008 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.1.
					.
"When it comes to the role of religion in the presidential election, would you say that religion is talked about too much, too little, or about the right amount?"
					.
		Too Much	Too Little	About Right	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	12/14-17/07	45	22	30	3

CBS News Poll. June 26-28, 2007. N=750 registered voters nationwide.
						.
"Do you think it is appropriate for political candidates to talk about their religious beliefs as part of their political campaigns, or do you think this is not appropriate?"
						.
		Appropriate	Not Appropriate	Unsure
		%	%	%
	ALL reg. voters	50	48	2
	Republicans	65	32	3
	Democrats	41	57	2
	Independents	48	51	1
						.
	5/20-23/04	50	47	3
						.
"Do you think it is appropriate for religious leaders to urge people to vote for or against a political candidate, or is that not appropriate?"
						.
		Appropriate	Not Appropriate	Unsure
		%	%	%
	ALL reg. voters	27	70	3
	Republicans	41	58	1
	Democrats	21	77	2
	Independents	22	72	6
						.
	5/20-23/04	33	63	4
						.
"Thinking about your vote for president next year, how important is it that a candidate SHARES your religious beliefs? Is it very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not at all important?"
						.
		Very Important	Somewhat Important	Not Very Important	Not at All Important	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	ALL reg. voters	15	23	23	38	1
	Republicans	30	28	20	21	1
	Democrats	7	23	27	42	1
	Independents	12	18	21	48	1
						.
"How important is it for a candidate to have STRONG religious beliefs, regardless of whether those beliefs are the same as yours? Is it very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not at all important?"
						.
		Very Important	Somewhat Important	Not Very Important	Not at All Important	Unsure
		%	%	%	%