A new poll found that 27% of Americans view evangelicals as the most unfavorable religious group, with Jews ranking as the most favorable, according to Pew Research Center (PRC).
The poll asked Americans about their perceptions of six mainstream religious groups in the country: Jews, mainline Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, Mormons and Evangelical Christians. Americans indicated that they had the most negative feelings toward Evangelical Christians at 27%, with Mormons coming second at 25%, according to the poll. (RELATED: Christian Accountant Fired After Refusing LGBTQ Training Loses Lawsuit Against School District)
Jews were viewed the most positively at 35% with only 6% of Americans saying they had a negative view of them, while Catholics came in second with 34% saying they viewed them favorably and 18% said they had negative impressions of them, according to the poll. Muslims and Mormons had the lowest positive ratings at 17% and 15% respectively, while Mainline Protestants were viewed positively by 30% of Americans.
Pope Francis walks towards at the former Nazi German Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp on July 29, 2016, in Oswiecim as part of his visit to the World Youth Days. (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
Americans were also asked about their feelings toward atheists and 20% of respondents said they had very/somewhat positive views while 24% said they have somewhat negative views of atheists, according to the poll. More Americans said they knew an atheist than in years past, going from 65% in 2019 to 71% in 2022, while all other religious groups dropped except for Muslims.
While 41% of Americans said they also held no animosity toward religious groups, one in five Americans also hold a negative view toward three or more religious groups, according to the poll. Nearly a quarter of Americans said they viewed one religious group, mainly Christians or atheists, negatively.
PRC noted that most Americans choose not to give their opinions on different religions.
“Some survey respondents may find it strange or difficult to be asked to rate an entire group of people,” the poll explained. “Indeed, most Americans give a neutral response – or choose not to answer the question – when asked about some religious groups.”
The poll was conducted between Sept. 13 to Sept. 18, 2022, and out of 11,687 who were sampled, 10,588 responded, with a response rate of 91% and a margin of error of 1.5%.
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