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Democrats Think Muslims Worse Off Here Than Christians Are In Muslim World

Most voters agree that Christians living in Muslim-majority countries are mistreated for their religion. But Democrats are more likely to think Muslims are mistreated in America than to think Christians are persecuted in the Islamic world.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 62% of Likely U.S. Voters believe most Christians living in the Islamic world are treated unfairly because of their religion. Just 17% disagree, while 21% more are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

These findings have changed little in surveys since early 2015.

By comparison, 39% feel most Muslims living in the United States are treated unfairly because of their religion. That’s up from 31% last year and is the highest finding in surveys to date. A plurality (46%) still believes Muslims are not treated unfairly because of their faith, while 15% more are not sure.

Fifty-six percent (56%) of Democrats, however, believe most Muslims in this country are mistreated, a view shared by only 22% of Republicans and 39% of voters not affiliated with either major party. Fewer Democrats (47%) think most Christians are mistreated in the Islamic world, compared to 76% of GOP voters and 64% of unaffiliateds.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on February 2 and 5, 2017 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Most voters favor the president's temporary ban on refugees and on visas for those from seven Muslim-majority countries that the State Department views as terrorist havens. Trump wants to ensure that the government can adequately screen out potential terrorists before letting any more newcomers into the country. 

Majorities of voters across most demographic groups agree that most Christians living in the Islamic world are treated unfairly because of their religion.

Women are more likely than men to think most American Muslims are mistreated here but less likely to believe Christians are mistreated in the Islamic world.

Nearly as many voters under 40 think most Muslims are mistreated in America (51%) as think most Christians are mistreated in the Muslim world (57%). Older voters by a two-to-one margin believe the treatment of Christians in the Muslim world is worse than that of Muslims in this country.

A majority of black voters (52%) believe most Muslims here are unfairly treated, compared to 37% of whites and 42% of other minority voters.

Among voters who do not believe Muslims here as mistreated, 76% say most Christians living in the Islamic world are persecuted. Among those who feel most Muslims in America are mistreated, only 56% agree that most Christians suffer in Muslim countries.

The United States remains a majority Christian nation. But 94% of voters also rate freedom of religion as an important right, including 80% who say it is Very Important.

Following the massacre by a Muslim terrorist at an Orlando nightclub last June, only 21% of all voters said the Islamic community in this country has been vocal enough in its condemnation of terrorist attacks. Forty-nine percent (49%) think Islam as practiced today encourages violence more than most other religions, and 71% say Islamic religious leaders need to do more to emphasize the peaceful beliefs of their faith.

Most voters continue to believe the United States is at war with radical Islamic terrorism.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on February 2 and 5, 2017 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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