Hating the Other

America is a nation where the overwhelming majority of its citizens are affiliated with a Christian religion. This is true even though there have been recent increases in the numbers of people who self-identify as an atheist or as a non-affiliated religious or spiritual person.

This reality makes a recent Gallup poll most interesting. Under the auspices of the Muslim West Facts Project, the poll investigated what Ameicans thought of four of the major world religions: Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. The report can be found at: http://www.muslimwestfacts.com/mwf/125315/Religious-Perceptions-America.aspx.

Here are some interesting facts - at least for me - from the poll.
** Islam elicits the most negative views with 53% of respondents saying they had either a "not too favorable" or a "not favorable at all" opinion of the religion.
** Most Americans know very little about Islam with 63% saying they had "very little knowledge" or "none at all" about the religion, even though 52% say they know someone who is a Muslim.
** There is some statistical correlation between prejudice toward Jews and prejudice toward Muslims with those who self-identify as having a "great deal" of prejudice toward Jews 32 times more likely also to have a "great deal" of prejudice toward Muslims.
** There is also some statistical correlation between those who attend a religious service more than once a week and reporting "no prejudice" toward Muslims.

What should "good" Christian Americans think about those who follow another faith? How much should "good" Christian Americans know about those other faiths? What do you think?