More Than Half of Evangelicals View Islam as a Violent Religion

More than half of evangelical Christians (52 percent) view Islam as "essentially a violent religion," a new report from Barna Group reveals, though only about a quarter (26 percent) of all American adults feel the same way.

Despite the general perception of Islam within the evangelical community, 68 percent of evangelicals agree with the statement: "Peace between Christians and Muslims is possible." Researchers also found that 79 percent of mainline Christians, 82 percent of college graduates and 75 percent of all American adults also believe such peace is possible.

The report indicates that those who associate with different religious groups tend to view Islam differently. Only 30 percent of non-evangelical born again Christians, 26 percent of Catholics and 20 percent of people who are agnostic or have no faith also consider Islam to be violent. In contrast, 62 percent of people who are agnostic or who have no faith agree that "Islam is essentially a peaceful religion," and 59 percent of Catholics, 47 percent of non-evangelical born again Christians and 27 percent of evangelicals agree. Read more