Public Perception of Various Religious Groups Among

North Dakota State University Students

Damon Hage
North Dakota State University
Introduction:
Religion has had a very influential impact on public perception, even in
todays modern culture, with non-religious groups receiving relatively large amounts
of scrutiny. In recent years, attitudes towards the middle-east (and its largely
Muslim religious base) have remained divided [1]. At the same time, research done
by the Pew Research Center shows an increasing percentage of Americans who
identify as non-religious, especially among younger generations [2]. These societal
changes have a potential to shift public perception. This study is meant to
determine the attitudes of college age students towards the trustworthiness or
morality of various religious groups, with an emphasis on Muslims and Atheists.
In the United States, an individuals religious beliefs remain a very important
factor to judge the morality of an individual or group. In a 2014 study by Will
Gervais, he performs various experiments meant to determine if participants would
be more likely to associate immoral behavior as indicative of atheists. One
experiment described a character as an animal torturer and a serial murderer, and
gave options prompting responses as to whether such a character would likely to be
A) A teacher, B) a teacher who does not believe in god, C) a teacher who is a
Christian, etc. Among the included religions were Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist and
Muslim. This study found that the participants were far more likely to associate this
immoral behavior with atheists than with people of the various religious groups [3].
Also, multiple Gallup polls show that an Atheist or Muslim is unlikely to be voted into
the presidency [9] and a 2006 paper by Eugene Volokh cites examples of where
legal courts have restricted one parents religious speech because it would affect
the custodial parents intentions for the religious education of the child [10].
According to a poll from the Pew Research Center, 23% of the population
identifies as unaffiliated in the United States [2]. As anecdotal evidence of a
stigma, of the 535 voting members of the United States congress, there is only one
active member who identifies as religiously unaffiliated, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)
[4]. Barney Frank, a former democratic congressman from Massachusetts, made
national headlines when he openly admitted to being homosexual in 1987. He made
this pubic declaration while in office, but waited until a 2013 episode of Real Time
with Bill Maher to openly admit to his religious non-affiliation [5]. In an interview
with Chris Stedman, the Executive Director of the Yale Humanist Community, Mr.
Frank stated that he had never felt discriminated against because of his religious
standing, but the fact that he gave the following advice to young atheist
campaigners does seem to suggest that it should not be a highlighted topic: deal
with it when it comes up, [be] matter of fact about it, and [then] go on about other
issues [6].
In light of such potential for changing attitudes, it is my hypothesis that a
college aged demographic will likely view non-religious groups with more

favorability than a religious group that widely receives criticism from the media,
such as Islam. It is my opinion that more information on how college educated
young people perceive groups will help understand the direction of public opinion in
the coming years.
Methods:
The researchers will distribute a paper survey to college students at the North
Dakota State University Memorial Union during campus academic hours (between 9
A.M. and 5 P.M). The survey will consist of a series of questions directed towards
the general trustworthiness/morality of different religious groups. The survey will
first ask respondents to provide their religious affiliation with the option to choose
not to reply, followed by a scenario in which they must put themselves, at least
partially, in a position of vulnerability to others who have various religious identities.
Respondents will give feedback using a Likert-type scale, with 5 options ranging
from Yes, Certainly to No, never. See appendix for example questions.
Analysis:
Analysis of the data will be based largely upon the number of responses that
gauge trustworthiness and whether or not the data is in accordance with larger,
more encompassing polls. If not, this study may serve as evidence variability that is
not currently being discussed within the discourse. Also, since data will include
questions about respondents religious affiliations and birth location, a more
complete breakdown of trust between groups can be established.
Timeline:
1. Week 1 (3/14-3/20):

The researchers will attempt to develop the most accurate and non-biased
scenarios in which to place our respondents in order to get the most relevant
feedback.
2. Week 2 (3/21-3/27):

The researchers will distribute and collect the survey.

3. Week 3 (3/28-4/3):

The researchers will analyze the data and examine it for trends.
4. Week 4 (4/4-4/10):

The researchers will distribute the findings from the survey by form of a
report on the data.

Bibliography:
1. S. Telhami, American Attitudes Toward the Middle East and Israel. Center for
Middle East Policy at Brookings. Accessed: 3/7/2016. URL:
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2015/12/04american-public-opinion-israel-middle-east-telhami/2015-poll-key-findingsfinal.pdf
2. Pew Research Center, U.S. Public Becoming Less Religious. Published:
11/3/2015.
Accessed: 3/7/2016. URL: http://www.pewforum.org/2015/11/03/u-s-publicbecoming-less-religious/
3. W.M. Gervais, Everything Is Permitted? People Intuitively Judge Immorality as
Representative of Atheists. PLoS One. Accessed: 3/7/2016. URL:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3981659/
4. Pew Research Center, Faith on the Hill. Published: 1/5/2015. Accessed:
3/7/2016. URL: http://www.pewforum.org/2015/01/05/faith-on-the-hill/
5. Real time with Bill Maher. HBO. Accessed: 3/7/2016.
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va16p2HN0qg
6. C. Stedman. Barney Frank: Why I didnt talk about my atheism while serving
in Congress. Religion News Service. Published: 6/6/2014. Accessed:
3/7/2016. URL: http://chrisstedman.religionnews.com/2014/06/06/barneyfrank-didnt-talk-atheism-serving-congress/
7. Pew Research Center, The Future of the Global Muslim Population. Published:
1/27/2011.
Accessed: 3/8/2016. URL:
http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/the-future-of-the-global-muslimpopulation/
8. Pew Research Center, How Americans Feel About Religious Groups.
Published: 7/16/2014.
Accessed: 3/7/2016. URL: http://www.pewforum.org/2014/07/16/howamericans-feel-about-religious-groups/
9. J. M. Jones, Atheists, Muslims See Most Bias as Presidency Candidates.
Published: 6/21/2012. Accessed: 3/7/2016. URL:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/155285/atheists-muslims-bias-presidentialcandidates.aspx
10.E. Volokh, Parent-Child Speech and Child Custody Speech Restrictions. New
York University Law Review. Vol. 81:631. Accessed Online: 3/7/2016. URL:
http://www.nyulawreview.org/sites/default/files/pdf/3_1.pdf

Appendix of Example Questions:

1. What is your religious affiliation?
2. Were you born in the United States?
You are stranded on a highway with no sense of direction or communication
devices. You are limited to receiving a ride from one of the highways drivers. A
driver pulls over and offers assistance. They have a bumper sticker that reads
Proudly _____.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Proudly Christian: Would you trust this person to help you?

Proudly Muslim: Would you trust this person to help you?
Proudly Buddhist: Would you trust this person to help you?
Proudly Atheist: Would you trust this person to help you?
Would you consider an Anti-Theist (Someone who believes that religions are a
bad thing) to be trustworthy?

Secondary Appendix of URLs of potential sources:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3200/SOCP.148.2.187-209
http://news.nationalpost.com/holy-post/religious-people-do-not-believe-inatheists-study
http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=2011-25187-001
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0092302
http://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/global-christianity-exec/
http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/ehost/detail/detail?
sid=406359e7-ee63-4777-a9145e09e836caf9%40sessionmgr110&vid=0&hid=116&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc
3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=2011-25187-001&db=pdh
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3981659/
http://pitweb.pitzer.edu/academics/wpcontent/uploads/sites/38/2014/12/FAC-Zuckerman-Sociology-Compass.pdf