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More Americans Say Muslim Extremists Are True Muslims Than Christian Extremists Are True Christians
Christian Post ^ | 01/09/2015 | Napp Nazworth

Posted on 01/09/2015 11:08:29 AM PST by SeekAndFind

More Americans say that self-described-Muslims who commit violence in the name of their religion are real Muslims than say that self-described-Christians who commit violence are real Christians.

Eighty-three percent said violent people who claim to be Christian are not true Christians while only 48 percent said violent people who claim to be Muslim are not true Muslims.

Religious Violence A Public Religion Research Institute survey asked 2,450 Americans two questions:

"When people claim to be Christian and commit acts of violence in the name of Christianity, do you believe they really are Christian, or not?"

"When people claim to be Muslim and commit acts of violence in the name of Islam, do you believe they really are Muslim, or not?"

The survey was conducted in 2011 but the results were republished on the PRRI website in light of the recent terrorist attack by Islamic extremists on a satirical newspaper in Paris that had mocked Islam. (The newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, also mocked other religions, including Christianity.)

Forty-four percent answered that violent people claiming to be Muslim are not really Muslim while only 13 percent answered that violent people claiming to be Christian are not really Christian.

Republicans were more likely than Democrats to attribute Muslim violence to true-Muslims and Christian violence to heretics. Eighty-six percent answered that violence in the name of Christianity is not true to the faith while 55 percent answered that a violent Muslim is true to their faith. For Democrats, the same split was 78 percent/40 percent.

White evangelical protestants had the largest gap of any demographic group. Only 10 percent said that those who commit violence in the name of Christianity are really Christian while 57 percent said that those who commit violence in the name of Islam are truly Muslim.

The issue whether Muslim extremists are behaving consistently with their proclaimed faith was also raised in September by comedian Bill Maher.

In an interview with PBS's Charlie Rose, Maher said: "Vast numbers of Christians do not believe that if you leave the Christian religion you should be killed for it," Maher responded. "Vast numbers of Christians do not treat women as second class citizens … Vast numbers of Christians do not believe if you draw a picture of Jesus Christ you should get killed for it. So yes, does ISIS do Khmer Rouge-like activities where they just kill people indiscriminately who aren't just like them? Yes. And would most Muslim people in the world do that or condone that? No."

The survey's margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus two percentage points.


TOPICS: Islam; Religion & Culture; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS: christians; extremism; islam; muslims
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1 posted on 01/09/2015 11:08:29 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Might be because most Americans define “true Christian” by looking in the mirror rather than at Christ.


2 posted on 01/09/2015 11:12:14 AM PST by LearsFool ("Thou shouldst not have been old, till thou hadst been wise.")
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To: SeekAndFind

Perhaps I don’t pay attention but can anyone share some examples of “Christian Extremists” in action? I mean, besides praying for the unborn and going to church.


3 posted on 01/09/2015 11:13:04 AM PST by NativeSon ( Grease the floor with Crisco when I dance the Disco)
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To: SeekAndFind

What’s an example of a “Christian Extremist” and the danger thereof?


4 posted on 01/09/2015 11:13:57 AM PST by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: SeekAndFind

Not a “double standard”. Just the truth.


5 posted on 01/09/2015 11:14:03 AM PST by WayneS (Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.)
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To: MrB
What’s an example of a “Christian Extremist” and the danger thereof?

HERE's ONE


The "danger" ( note quotes), is they disrupt funerals.
6 posted on 01/09/2015 11:15:59 AM PST by SeekAndFind (If at first you don't succeed, put it out for beta test.)
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To: NativeSon

The most common example they love to point out is Timothy McVeigh.

What they conveniently leave out is that he was a lapsed Catholic agnostic who boasted that “Science is My God.”


7 posted on 01/09/2015 11:16:33 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: SeekAndFind

So yes, does ISIS do Khmer Rouge-like activities where they just kill people indiscriminately who aren’t just like them? Yes. And would most Muslim people in the world do that or condone that? No.”

Actually Bill, the answer to that last is YES,
they condone that and given the same circumstances
would do the very same thing.


8 posted on 01/09/2015 11:16:40 AM PST by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: SeekAndFind

How many people have the Westboro folks killed?


9 posted on 01/09/2015 11:17:16 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: SeekAndFind
Not much "turning the other cheek" and forgiving not "seven times, but up to seventy times seven" in the Koran.
10 posted on 01/09/2015 11:17:43 AM PST by KarlInOhio (The IRS: either criminally irresponsible in backup procedures or criminally responsible of coverup.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Well duh.... the Mooslim religion teaches and requires violence and those who act on those teaches are the true Mooslims, the ones who don’t are the apostates. The exact opposite exists in Christianity which does not teach violence.....and those who are violent in the name of Christianity are NOT Christians.

As Christ said, Matthew 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.


11 posted on 01/09/2015 11:17:51 AM PST by hecticskeptic (In life it's important to know what you believeÂ….but more more importantly, why you believe it.)
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To: NativeSon

Let’s see, maybe bombing abortion clinics, I think a few radical extreme self proclaimed Christians were involved with that.


12 posted on 01/09/2015 11:17:58 AM PST by eastforker (Cruz for steam in 2016)
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To: NativeSon

RE: can anyone share some examples of “Christian Extremists” in action? I mean, besides praying for the unborn and going to church.

See Post #6 above.


13 posted on 01/09/2015 11:18:06 AM PST by SeekAndFind (If at first you don't succeed, put it out for beta test.)
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To: MrB

I honestly can’t think of any. I know the libs tried to label Timothy McVeigh and Eric Robert Rudolf as Christian, but I think both were avowed atheists.


14 posted on 01/09/2015 11:18:52 AM PST by JGT
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...
Eighty-three percent said violent people who claim to be Christian are not true Christians while only 48 percent said violent people who claim to be Muslim are not true Muslims.
This calls for a program of public education! /s
15 posted on 01/09/2015 11:20:08 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Extremist, yes... Christian? maybe... marginally...

Dangerous? Not so much.


16 posted on 01/09/2015 11:20:57 AM PST by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: dfwgator
How many people have the Westboro folks killed?

I dispute that the Westboro "Baptist" "Church" folks are Christian at all.

But stipulating, ad arguendo, that they are ...

The answer is "zero". The Westboro "Extremist Christians" have killed zero people. Extremist mohammedans have killed infinitely more than they have.

17 posted on 01/09/2015 11:21:31 AM PST by NorthMountain (No longer TEA Party ... I'm the TAF Party)
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To: NorthMountain

That’s my point....let’s just assume for the sake of argument that the Westboro folks are Christians.....the fact is, they still have killed fewer people than Ted Kennedy’s car.


18 posted on 01/09/2015 11:22:26 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: SeekAndFind

It’s not a double standard. The standard is the same: judge whether they are true or not based on whether they are following the precepts of their religion.

It’s not our fault that Islam has precepts which endorse violence, and Christianity does not.


19 posted on 01/09/2015 11:22:36 AM PST by Boogieman
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To: NativeSon

The only ones I can think of that seem to meet the left’s definition are the “Eric Rudolph” types who want to bomb abortion clinics or shoot abortionists. Still, there are only, what, half a dozen or so of those guys? Versus how many millions of Muslim terrorists?


20 posted on 01/09/2015 11:24:29 AM PST by Boogieman
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