A US-based think tank has conducted a study to answer some of key questions about Muslims and Islam in the United States
Source: World Bulletin / News Desk
The growth and regional migration of Muslims, combined with the ongoing impact of the ISIL and other extremist groups that commit acts of violence in the name of Islam, have brought Muslims and the Islamic faith to the forefront of the political debate in many countries.
Pew Research Center has conducted a study to answer some of key questions about Muslims and Islam in the United States.
How many Muslims are there in the U.S.?
According to Pew Research Center’s best estimate, Muslims make up just less than 1% of the U.S. adult population. The 2014 Religious Landscape Study found that 0.9% of U.S. adults identify as Muslims. A 2011 survey of Muslim Americans estimated that there were 1.8 million Muslim adults (and 2.75 million Muslims of all ages) in the country. That survey also found that a majority of U.S. Muslims (63%) are immigrants.
Pew Research Center’s demographic projections estimate that Muslims will make up 2.1% of the U.S. population by the year 2050, surpassing people who identify as Jewish on the basis of religion as the second-largest faith group in the country (not including people who say they have no religion).
A recent report estimated that the Muslim share of immigrants granted permanent residency status (green cards) increased from about 5% in 1992 to roughly 10% in 2012, representing about 100,000 immigrants in that year.
What do American Muslims believe?
Pew Research Center’s 2011 survey of Muslim Americans found that roughly half of U.S. Muslims (48%) say their own religious leaders have not done enough to speak out against Islamic extremists.
Living in a religiously pluralistic society, Muslim Americans are more likely than Muslims in many other nations to have many non-Muslim friends. Only about half (48%) of U.S. Muslims say all or most of their close friends are also Muslims, compared with a global median of 95% in the 39 countries we surveyed.
Roughly seven-in-ten U.S. Muslims (69%) say religion is very important in their lives. Virtually all (96%) say they believe in God, nearly two-thirds (65%) report praying at least daily and nearly half (47%) say they attend religious services at least weekly. By all of these traditional measures, Muslims in the U.S. are roughly as religious as U.S. Christians, although they are less religious than Muslims in many other nations.