1. Protestant Pastors’ Reaction to a Statement on Islam

2. 2 Methodology  The telephone survey of Protestant pastors was conducted October 13-29, 2008  The calling list was randomly drawn from a list of all Protestant churches. Up to six calls were made to reach a sampled phone number  Each interview was conducted with the senior pastor, minister or priest of the church called  Responses were weighted to reflect the geographic distribution of Protestant churches

3. 3 Methodology continued  The completed sample is 1,002 phone interviews  The sample provides 95% confidence that the sampling error does not exceed +3.1%  Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.

4. Protestant pastors were asked to indicated their level of agreement with the following statement: “I believe Islam is a dangerous religion.”

5. 5 Two-thirds of Protestant pastors agree that Islam is a dangerous religion Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements: I believe Islam is a dangerous religion. 4% Don’t Know I believe Islam is a dangerous religion.

6. 6 Protestant pastors who consider themselves Mainline are significantly less likely to agree that Islam is a dangerous religion compared to Evangelicals Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements: I believe Islam is a dangerous religion. Don’t Know: 5% Evangelicals, 3% Mainline I believe Islam is a dangerous religion.

7. 7 Protestant pastors whose education is a Bachelors degree or less are significantly more likely to agree compared to those with a Masters or Doctorate Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements: I believe Islam is a dangerous religion. Which of the following best describes your highest level of education? Don’t Know: 4% Bachelors or less, 4% Masters or more I believe Islam is a dangerous religion.

8. 8 Among Protestant pastors the majority of Democrats strongly disagree, while the majority of Republicans strongly agree Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements: I believe Islam is a dangerous religion. In which party are you registered to vote or do you consider yourself to be a member? Don’t Know: 3% of Democrats and Republicans, 4% of Independents I believe Islam is a dangerous religion.

9. 9 Overall agreement differs little by age, but Protestant pastors age 65 and older who agree do so more strongly than younger pastors Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements: I believe Islam is a dangerous religion. What is your age? Don’t Know: 2% Less than 50, 4% Ages 50-64, 6% Ages 65+ I believe Islam is a dangerous religion.

10. 10 Overall agreement is similar across church locations, but the strength of agreement is higher among pastors in rural and smaller cities (less than 100,000) Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements: I believe Islam is a dangerous religion. Which of the following best represents where your church is located? Don’t Know: 2% Large city, 4% Suburbs and Rural, 5% Small city I believe Islam is a dangerous religion.

11. 11 Protestant pastors’ political ideology reveals significant differences in agreement: Conservatives agree and Liberals disagree Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements: I believe Islam is a dangerous religion. Which description best represents your political ideology? Don’t Know: 2% Liberal/Very Liberal, 3% Moderate, 6% Conservative, 2% Very Conservative I believe Islam is a dangerous religion.

12. Protestant Pastors’ Reaction to a Statement on Islam