• Contact Us
  • Classifieds
  • About
  • Home

Pathway

Missouri Baptist Convention's Official News Journal

  • Missouri
    • MBC
    • Churches
    • Institutions & Agencies
    • Policy
    • Disaster Relief
  • National
    • SBC Annual Meeting
    • NAMB
    • SBC
    • Churches
    • Policy
    • Society & Culture
  • Global
    • Missions
    • Multicultural
  • Columnists
    • Wes Fowler
    • Ben Hawkins
    • Pat Lamb
    • Rhonda Rhea
    • Rob Phillips
  • Ethics
    • Life
    • Liberty
    • Family
  • Faith
    • Apologetics
    • Religions
    • Evangelism
    • Missions
    • Bible Study & Devotion
  • E-Edition

More results...

1 in 3 worry about Sharia law

February 24, 2015 By LifeWay

Bob Smietana/LifeWay

NASHVILLE – As President Obama seeks to ramp up military action against the terrorist group known as ISIS, Americans remain uneasy over the place of Islam in the United States and in the world, a LifeWay Research survey shows.

More than a third (37 percent) say they are worried about Sharia law – an Islamic legal and moral code – being applied in America.

One in 4 (27 percent) believe the terrorist group ISIS reflects the true nature of Islam, while 4 in 10 (43 percent) believe Islam can create a peaceful society.

“ISIS has stirred an odd religious debate in America today,” Ed Stetzer, executive director of LifeWay Research, said. “In a nation that has long espoused religious freedom, Americans are thinking long and hard about the kind of society Islam fosters – especially the more radical groups that say they are Islamic – and whether Sharia law would ever be adopted here.”

PrintA terrorist attack on a satirical magazine in Paris last month and the rise of ISIS have renewed concerns over extremist versions of Islam. In particular, ISIS is known for its brutality. Its fighters executed a number of prisoners over the past year, most recently a pilot from Jordan and a Japanese journalist. The death of a young American aid worker, also captured by ISIS, was confirmed earlier this month, according to media reports.

And the group has terrorized civilians in large swaths of Syria and northern Iraq.

Since last year, the U.S. military has helped conduct air strikes against ISIS. President Obama and other U.S. leaders have argued the group – also known as ISIL – is a terrorist organization, not a religious group.

“Now let’s make two things clear,” the president said in a Sept. 10, 2014 address to the nation. “ISIL is not Islamic. No religion condones the killing of innocents. And the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim.”

Few Americans accept that view.

About half (48 percent) disagree with the statement, “ISIS is not Islamic.” About 1 in 4 (22 percent) agree, while 3 in 10 are not sure.

But few Americans believe ISIS reflects what a society shaped by Islam looks like.

About a quarter (27 percent) agree with the statement, “ISIS is a true indication of what Islam looks like when Islam controls a society.” Close to half (47 percent) disagree, and a quarter (26 percent) are not sure.

Pastors, researchers found, are critical about the nature of Islam.

Six in 10 (61 percent) Protestant senior pastors disagree with the statement, “True Islam creates a peaceful society.” Less than a third (30 percent) agree. African-American pastors (50 percent) are more likely to say Islam can create a peaceful society than white pastors (30 percent).

Few evangelical pastors agree (23 percent), but that number jumps to 4 in 10 (42 percent) for Mainline pastors.

About half of pastors (45 percent) say ISIS gives a true indication of what an Islamic society looks like. A similar number (47 percent) disagree.

Overall, more than one-third (37 percent) of Americans are worried about Sharia law being applied in the United States.

That includes half (47 percent) of those over 45. Only about a quarter (27 percent) of those 18 to 44 worry about Sharia law.

Americans are also divided over how peaceful Islam is at heart.

About 4 in 10 Americans (43 percent) agree with the statement, “True Islam creates a peaceful society.” A similar number (39 percent) disagree. One in 5 (18 percent) is unsure.

Evangelicals are particularly skeptical about Islam’s role in public life. Only a third (33 percent) agree true Islam creates a peaceful society. “Every religion has a broad spectrum of groups that fall under their umbrella,” Stetzer said. “Who is mainstream or extreme, who is orthodox or heretical is often a topic of fierce debate.”

Comments

Featured Videos

Lick Creek Fellowship - A Story of Cooperation

A declining rural church faced closure after years of dwindling attendance and aging members. But after the doors closed, a small group stepped in to build something fresh from its legacy. Watch this video to hear this story of cooperation and new life.

Find More Videos

Trending

  • Hooked on serving: One trip was all it took to seek out MODR training

  • Students accept call to faith, ministry during a peak year at Super Summer

  • Bellevue Baptist Church search committee announces Lifeway’s Mandrell as pastor candidate

  • First-person: The Cooperative Program fostered my passion for church planting

  • Trusting the One who calls us

  • MBU sports team focuses on more than athletics

Ethics

The fight for life continues in Missouri

Benjamin Hawkins

On July 3, according to a press release from Missouri Right to Life, “Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang released a dangerous ruling for the 3rd time to remove almost all health and safety standards for abortions.”

Churches, religious broadcasters prevail in lawsuit challenging Johnson Amendment

Diana Chandler

More Ethics Stories

Missouri

For 30th year, Gasconade Valley Association mission team helps maintain HLGU campus

Flora Tague

For 30 years, volunteers from the Gasconade Valley Baptist Association have gathered each summer to offer their time and skills to help maintain Hannibal-LaGrange University (HLGU). The project, which began with a handful of people, has grown into a tradition that now attracts over 30 volunteers each year.

Copyright © 2025 · The Pathway