Source: Pew Research center
Little change in views of relationship between Islam and violence
Following the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., the public’s concerns about terrorism have surged and positive ratings of the government’s handling of terrorism have plummeted. But other attitudes relating to terrorism and security, as well as perceptions of whether Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence, have shown far less change.
The latest national survey by Pew Research Center, conducted Dec. 8-13 among 1,500 adults, finds that since the start of this year, the share of Americans who say the government is doing well in reducing the threat of terrorism has fallen by 26 percentage points – from 72% to 46% – and now stands at its lowest point in the post-9/11 era.
Approval of the way Barack Obama is handling the threat of terrorism also has declined, even as his overall job rating (currently 46%) – and his ratings on immigration, the economy and other issues – is little changed. Just 37% approve of the way Obama is handling terrorism while 57% disapprove, the lowest rating of his presidency for this issue.
Terrorism has reshaped the public’s agenda, both at home and abroad. Currently, 29% cite terrorism (18%), national security (8%) or ISIS (7%) as the most important problem facing the country today. One year ago, just 4% of the public cited any of these issues. And while ISIS already ranked high among leading international dangers, 83% now regard ISIS as a major threat to the well-being of the U.S., up from 67% in August 2014.
Public concerns that anti-terrorism policies have gone too far in restricting civil liberties have fallen to their lowest level in five years (28%); twice as many (56%) now say their greater concern is that these policies have not gone far enough to adequately protect the country.
However, Americans are not much more likely today to support the use of U.S. ground forces against ISIS than they were before the recent terror attacks. Currently, 47% favor the use of U.S. ground forces against ISIS, little changed from July (44%). And overall concerns about the rise of Islamic extremism at home and abroad, while high, are no higher than they were in September 2014.
Perceptions about the relationship between Islam and violence also have not changed significantly since last year – though these opinions, already politically polarized, have become even more so. Currently, 46% say the Islamic religion is more likely than others to encourage violence among its believers; about as many (45%) say the Islamic religion does not encourage violence more than other religions.
About two-thirds (68%) of Republicans say Islam is more likely to encourage violence, little changed from September 2014 (67%), but the highest share saying this on a question that dates to 2002. In contrast, the share of Democrats associating Islam with violence has declined 12 percentage points since last year, from 42% to 30%.
In general, the public rejects by a wide margin the idea of holding U.S. Muslims to increased scrutiny because of their religion. About six-in-ten Americans (61%) say Muslims living in the United States should not be subject to additional scrutiny solely because of their religion; 32% say Muslims should be subject to more scrutiny than people in other religious groups.
Conservative Republicans are the only major ideological, demographic or religious group in which a majority (57%) says Muslims in this country should be subject to greater scrutiny than those in other religious groups. Majorities of moderate and liberal Republicans (59%), independents (62%), conservative and moderate Democrats (67%), and liberal Democrats (87%) say Muslims should not receive greater scrutiny solely because of their religion.
The survey finds that, as has been the case since 2002, the Republican Party has a sizable advantage over the Democrats on terrorism: 46% of the public says the Republican Party can do better in dealing with the terrorist threat at home, compared with 34% who favor the Democrats.
Republicans hold a narrower, six-point edge (43% to 37%) as the party better able to reflect people’s views about gun control. The GOP had an even wider lead on this issue in July (48% to 36%).
Neither party has a significant advantage on the economy or immigration, while the Democratic Party holds wide leads over the GOP on both climate change (46% to 32%) and the environment (53% to 30%).