Muslims living in the United States are more likely to have a friend or family member who identifies as evangelical Christian than the other way around, according to a newly released survey.
The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding of New York released a study on Monday titled “Evangelical Christian and Muslim Relations in the U.S.,” which analyzed several points of comparison between the two faith communities.
According to the research, 38 percent of Muslim respondents reported having any family members or close friends who are evangelical and 53 percent reported interacting with evangelicals either “very frequently” or “somewhat frequently.”
By contrast, 18 percent of evangelical respondents reported having any family members or close friends who are Muslim and 22 percent reported interacting with Muslims either “very frequently” or “somewhat frequently.”
When asked to describe the relationship between evangelicals and Muslims in the United States, each faith group was more likely to rate it “fair” (37 percent of evangelicals, 31 percent of Muslims) than “poor” (24 percent of evangelicals, 26 percent of Muslims) or “good” (21 percent of evangelicals and Muslims). Only 5 percent of evangelicals and 9 percent of Muslims rated it “excellent.”
Data for the study was based off of an online survey conducted Jan. 3-15, with a sample space of 500 self-identified American evangelical Christians and 500 self-identified American Muslims, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.38 percentage points.
The study showed some similarities between the two faith groups, as both evangelical and Muslim respondents ranked “Daily Prayer,” “Family,” and “Making the world a better place for everyone” in their top three most important aspects of their religious tradition.
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SOURCE: Christian Post, Michael Gryboski
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