but only of Islamic "terrorists," apparently.
MCM
Survey: Support for terror suspect torture differs among the faithful
* Story Highlights
* 742 American adults surveyed on use of
torture against suspected terrorists
* 54 percent of those who go to services at
least weekly say it's often or sometimes OK
* In survey, people unaffiliated with any
religious group were least likely to back torture
* President of National Association of
Evangelicals yet to comment on survey
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/30/religion.torture/
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The more often Americans go
to church, the more likely they are to support
the torture of suspected terrorists, according to
a new survey.
The Washington Region Religious Campaign Against
Torture rallied on Capitol Hill in March 2008.
More than half of people who attend services at
least once a week -- 54 percent -- said the use
of torture against suspected terrorists is
"often" or "sometimes" justified. Only 42 percent
of people who "seldom or never" go to services
agreed, according to the analysis released
Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public
Life.
White evangelical Protestants were the religious
group most likely to say torture is often or
sometimes justified -- more than six in 10
supported it. People unaffiliated with any
religious organization were least likely to back
it. Only four in 10 of them did.
The analysis is based on a Pew Research Center
survey of 742 American adults conducted April
14-21. It did not include analysis of groups
other than white evangelicals, white non-Hispanic
Catholics, white mainline Protestants and the
religiously unaffiliated, because the sample size
was too small. See results of the survey ยป
The president of the National Association of
Evangelicals, Leith Anderson, did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
The survey asked: "Do you think the use of
torture against suspected terrorists in order to
gain important information can often be
justified, sometimes be justified, rarely be
justified, or never be justified?"
Roughly half of all respondents -- 49 percent --
said it is often or sometimes justified. A
quarter said it never is.
The religious group most likely to say torture is
never justified was Protestant denominations --
such as Episcopalians, Lutherans and
Presbyterians -- categorized as "mainline"
Protestants, in contrast to evangelicals. Just
over three in 10 of them said torture is never
justified. A quarter of the religiously
unaffiliated said the same, compared with two in
10 white non-Hispanic Catholics and one in eight
evangelicals.
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