A new report from sociologists at the University of Minnesota has found that negative attitudes toward Islam are higher than those toward any other religious or non-religious group and are rising at a faster rate.
Accirdung to the Huffington Post, the report analyzes data from the 2014 Boundaries in the American Mosaic (BAM) Survey, designed to expand on a 2003 American Mosaic Project study of religion, race, and diversity.
Based on 2,521 surveys with a random sample of American adults, the report found that in the 10-year period between the two studies, Muslims surpassed atheists as the religious or non-religious group Americans feel most at odds with.
In 2003, nearly 40 percent of respondents said they believed atheists didn’t agree with their “vision of American society.” Roughly 26 percent said the same about Muslims.
Just over 10 years later roughly 42 percent of respondents say atheists don’t share their vision of American society.
But the share of Americans who say the same about Muslims has risen to 45.5 percent ― a steeper increase than any other group the study inquired about, including immigrants, conservative Christians, African Americans and those in the LGBT community.
Nearly half ― 48.9 percent ― of Americans also say they would disapprove if their child were to marry someone who is Muslim. That’s up from 33.5 percent in 2003 and higher than the 43.7 percent of Americans who say the same about atheists.
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The attitudes seem to reflect the rise in tensions between Americans and Muslims in the last decade amid the backdrop of the September 11 attacks and the subsequent invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The news also comes as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced that 2016 is on track to be one of the worst years for anti-mosque incidents, with 55 cases reported as of mid-September. There were 79 incidents in 2015.
“This trend of increasing violence targeting the American Muslim community is deeply troubling,” said CAIR national executive director Nihad Awad.
He added that 2016 was one of the worst years on record, involving vandalism, intimidation and physical assault.
“It is important for presidential candidates and other public figures to unify Americans against hate,” he said. “Any American should be able to freely practise his or her religion without fear of harm or intimidation.”
