Guest Column by Charlie Byers
In October, Public Policy Polling completed a 10-question telephone and Internet survey of registered U.S voters, on topics covering religion, law, and the respondents’ political leanings. Among other troubling results, the poll found that 32 percent of respondents would favor “making Christianity our official religion”, and 23 percent believed that “Islam should be illegal in the United States.” The polling company’s summary of the results can be found here, and I’d encourage you to read it. This election has been especially charged with anti-Islam rhetoric, and it’s sobering to look at results like these, even if the survey only included 1,338 people.
What brought this poll to my attention, though, was a steady stream of headlines like these in my social media feeds:
- 44 percent of Republicans favor a Christian theocracy
- They Really Want a Theocracy: The GOP Candidates Who Want to Make You Bow to Their Lord
It is critical that we condemn the political culture that makes islamophobia normal, even popular. I worry, though, when we fall into an “I told you so” orientation to our own opinions. When we skim new data like this, cherry-picking the factoids that best support the story we want to tell, we’re likely to miss something.
In the articles I’m reading, for instance, there is an effort to contextualize these results as part of the democrat/republican split. Self-identified republicans were indeed the group most likely to answer yes to the ‘official religion’ question, but we should notice that 28 percent of democrats and 24 percent of independents did, too. Hardly grounds for self-congratulation in any political camp. Rather than upholding the narrative that a Christian right wing is enforcing an anti-Islam ideology on the rest of us, this data should remind us that the challenges of a welcoming, pluralistic America are deeper than any single creed or party.
“Theocracy,” meanwhile, is a recurring theme in the headlines, even though the word appears nowhere in the polling. Designating an official state religion would obviously be at odds with the constitution, but if columnists and bloggers want to claim that this is equivalent to theocracy, the burden of proof would be on those writers. Absent that argument, I think the attention-grabbing headline betrays a shallow reading of the facts. While the dangers are real in any case, the poll simply doesn’t tell us whether those respondents would claim their cause is religious, political, or otherwise. If we intend to bring those discussions into daylight, we’d better get that right.
We should all be deeply concerned when a polling company finds 23 percent of a sample (even a small one) would like to see a religion outlawed. And we should decry a culture of intolerance wherever we find it. If we are committed to keeping America’s promises of religious freedom, however, we must also reject the too-easy explanation of us versus them. We must allow new information to humble our preconceptions, rather than entrench them.
Among other surprises: of those who said Islam should be made illegal, 83 percent also said we should not do away with the first amendment’s guarantee to freedom of religion. It is tempting to take that as a punchline. But until I can really claim to know the minds of those respondents, I’d prefer to take it as a rare glimpse into the deeper social values we share.
“1,338 people”…um…who feels anything arrived at from that sampling can say anything authorative or enlightening?
How about polls of Muslims in favor of Sharia law, since that at the heart of the religious view question. Is it more than 23% would that matter? Would such a question be valid in such a article looking at theocratic views of religious groups? I find it odd that we are at war against Islamic Caliphate pursuing enemy and your concerned about good ol boy republicans who want Jesus, Guns and BBQ? Is there really any equivalent here?
I’m surprised that’s your take-away from the article, Eric. The point I was trying to make was that the issue is broader than “good ol boy republicans”, so that sort of characterization is the wrong lesson to take from these polls.
We agree that it would be wrong to institute Sharia law, but one reason it would be wrong is that divine revelation, from any faith, shouldn’t have a place in our system of laws. What role do you think the first amendment’s protections for freedom of religion should have in these conversations?
And yeah, it’s a small sample! I was surprised the other articles didn’t point that out.
It’s not a closer look at Republicans, it’s a slice that reflects the xenophobic fringe of America.
Freedom of and from Religion is critical tension to me as wonderful balanced in our constitution and bill of rights. No Sharia & No Theocracy.
Constitution: Article VI
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
No Religious Test.
Well said. I couldn’t agree more.
Interesting thought about Sharia law in your other comment. That’s a concern that just doesn’t occur to me, but I suspect it is on the minds of a lot of people who have fears about Islam. I wonder what a productive conversation about that would look like.
To me the concern that Sharia law would become the law of the land here is chicken little stuff. Trumped-up, fear-mongering stuff. If someone breaks the law of the land following sharia law, we have a legal system to address that. But the fears of creeping sharia strike me as paranoia or cynical theopolitical calculation masquerading as paranoia.