CBS poll: Majority of Democrats consider Islam, other religions equally violent

A new poll has revealed that a majority of Democrats believe Islam is no more violent than other religions.

As many as 66 percent of Democrats have said that Islam is just as violent as other religions, and nine percent believe that it is less violent. Merely 14 percent have said that Islam encourages violence more than the other religions.

Among Republicans, 25 percent believe that the Islam encourages the same amount of violence as other religions while 63 percent said that it is more violent than other faiths. Only 2 percent believed that it is less violent.

The CBS poll, which was conducted on Feb. 1–2 among 1,019 adult respondents, came after President Donald Trump issued an executive order temporarily restricting refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.

The results indicated that 85 percent of Republicans approve of the temporary ban, and an equal number of Democrats disapprove. Sixty-eight percent of Republicans believe that the travel ban would make the U.S. safer from terrorism, while 63 percent of Democrats said that the country will be less safe.

Trump had suggested that the government might prioritize Christian immigrants who want to enter the U.S., but the poll results indicated that even American Christians do not agree with the president's plan.

Only nine percent of American Christians believe that priority should be given to their fellow believers, while 87 percent said that religion should not be a factor in deciding which immigrants can be admitted to the country.

Meanwhile, a separate poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports has found that a majority of Democrats believe that Muslims are being mistreated in the U.S., but fewer believe the same thing about Christians in the Islamic world.

As many as 56 percent of Democrats have said that Muslims are being mistreated in America, but only 47 percent think that Christian are being persecuted in Muslim-majority countries.

Among Republicans, 22 percent believe that Muslims are being mistreated in the country while 76 percent said that Christians are being oppressed in the Islamic world.

The Rasmussen poll of 1,000 likely voters also indicated that 49 percent believe that Islam encourages violence more than any other religions, and 71 percent have said that Islamic religious leaders need to increase their efforts to highlight the peaceful beliefs of their faith.