Post by shakedown on Oct 9, 2015 9:19:03 GMT -5
just more proof why the right is like isis and the tallyban
Christianity as American’s official religion? Forty-four percent of Republicans say yes
By Joel Connelly on October 7, 2015 at 5:33 PM
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Forty-four percent of Republican voters endorse having Christianity as America’s official religion, according to a new Public Policy Polling national survey that underscores the influence of the Christian right in the party’s 2016 presidential selection process.
The survey, taken Oct. 1-4 with 1,338 voters answering PPP’s questions, found that when Democrats and independents are included, just 32 percent support an official status for Christianity, with 52 percent of those surveyed opposed and 14 percent not sure.
In this Oct. 2, 2015 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson speaks in Ankeny, Iowa. Carson says he would have sacrificed his life to help stop a deadly shooting attack in Roseburg, Oregon. But he's joined the rest of the GOP's 2016 class in refusing to support new measures to stop mass shootings. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Dr. Ben Carson: The retired neurosurgeon has stressed his Christian faith as he makes his first bid for political office. He is campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
The margin becomes much closer with only Republicans, however, showing 44 percent in favor, 39 percent opposing an official status for Christianity, and 17 percent of those surveyed unsure.
A similar pattern played out when PPP asked whether Islam should be legal or illegal in America, a country where freedom of religion is a fundamental guarantee of the U.S. Constitution.
Just 23 percent of those surveyed said Islam should be illegal, with 56 percent endorsing its legality and 21 percent not sure.
With only Republicans, however, just 40 percent endorsed the legality of Islam, 36 percent favored making it illegal, with 25 percent unsure. Just 15 percent of Democrats and 20 percent of independents would have Islam illegal.
Polling can deliver very different answers based on how questions are posed. Just 6 percent of those surveyed told Public Policy Polling that they would eliminate freedom of religion from the Constitution: 87 percent said they were opposed, with top-heavy majorities among Republican, Democrats and independents.
The Christian right has become a key Republican constituency to be courted. Two GOP presidential candidates on the rise — Dr. Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina — have made faith an anchoring point in their bids for the White House. Carson has said he would not want to see a Muslim serving as president of the United States.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is a Catholic but stresses time he spent as a Mormon. Ex-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was a candidate of religious conservatives in 2008, and is again in the current election cycle.
Christian conservatives make up a majority of Republican caucus-goers in Iowa, scene of the nation’s first presidential caucuses. The electorate in New Hampshire, scene of the first primary, is far more secular. Independents are allowed to vote in the Republican as well as Democratic primaries.
The PPP poll was made available first to the liberal DailyKos.com website.