Oklahoma Poll
|
December 1, 2014
|
Bill Shapard

Tulsa World: Poll: Oklahomans not keen on Islam, but defend the right to practice it

MuslimPoll

By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer

Oklahoma is not exactly known as friendly territory for Islam, but residents say Muslims should have the freedom to worship as they choose.

In the most recent Oklahoma Poll, almost 80 percent said Muslims should enjoy the same religious freedoms as other Americans, and only 15 percent disagreed.

The poll, which surveyed 404 likely voters statewide, also found that more than half — 54 percent — viewed Islam unfavorably, and 35 percent were very unfavorably disposed toward it. Those percentages rose above 60 percent for Republicans and those who identified themselves as “very conservative,” and among married women.

Knowing a Muslim did not improve opinions of the religion. If anything, those who said they knew at least one Muslim were less likely to approve of Islam.

And yet, despite their disapproval, Oklahomans are accepting of Muslims in their midst.

“If you read the Constitution, the Constitution plainly mentions any person can worship freely, no matter whether they are Muslim, Catholic, Buddhist, whatever,” said Jerry Lane of Muskogee.

ContinuedClick here to read the entire Tulsa World article

 

About the Oklahoma Poll

The poll of 404 likely voters registered in Oklahoma was conducted Oct. 25-29 by SoonerPoll.com and included 136 cellphone and 268 landline users. The poll was sponsored by the Tulsa World. The margin of error is ±4.87 percentage points.

Poll results were weighted by age, gender and congressional district, stratified by Oklahoma likely voters statewide. This poll conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. A complete description of the methodology can be found here.

Bill Shapard
About the Author

Bill Shapard

Bill is the founder of SoonerPoll.com and ShapardResearch, a full service market research firm based in Oklahoma City. Bill began his career in polling after working on major campaigns for both Republicans and Democrats in Oklahoma from 1996 until founding SoonerPoll in 2004.