According to a two-year study released today by the Institute for Jewish & Community Research (IJCR), 53% of non-Evangelical university faculty say they hold cool or unfavorable views of Evangelical Christians - the only major religious denomination to be viewed negatively by a majority of faculty...The data released today suggests that dislike of evangelicals is likely linked to personal religiosity and to political affiliation: Only 20% of those faculty who say religion is very important to them and only 16% of Republicans have unfavorable views of Evangelicals; the percentages rise considerably for faculty who say religion is not important to them (75%) and among Democrats (65%)......A significant majority - 71% of all faculty - agreed with the statement: "This country would be better off if Christian fundamentalists kept their religious beliefs out of politics." By comparison, only 38% of faculty disagreed that the country would be better off if Muslims became more politically organized...
Dr. Gary Tobin, president of the IJCR and a co-author of the study, told Cybercast News Service he hopes the research will encourage university administrators and faculty to examine their own prejudices. "This is an opportunity for reflection and honest debate and improvement," he said. Meanwhile, Jonathan Knight, director of the Academic Freedom Program at the American Association of University Professors, said he doesn't see "any connection between what those views are and what happens in the classroom."
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