FACT BRIEF

Do surveys find that Americans think Muslims experience more discrimination in the US than other religious groups?

Thursday, June 24, 2021

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

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YES

Americans think Muslims experience religious discrimination to a greater degree in the U.S. than other religious groups.

A 2019 Pew Research survey found that over 80% of Americans think Muslims experience some level of discrimination. 64% of respondents thought Jews experience discrimination, and 50% said Evangelical Christians do. Survey results were similar in 2016.

Another Pew Research survey found that in 2019, 63% of Americans thought being Muslim puts people at a societal disadvantage, at least to some degree. 20% thought so about Jews and 15% thought so about Evangelical Christians.

A November 2020 report concluded that about two-thirds of Muslim adults in the U.S. have felt hostility or disrespect based on their religion; more than one-third of Jews said the same. Muslims and Jews both experienced more discrimination than Christians.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Pew Research Many Americans see religious discrimination in US–especially against Muslims

Pew Research Views of racial inequality

American Sociological Association Individuals’ experiences with religious hostility, discrimination and violence

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