Friday, May 1, 2009

Obama's Approval Ratings Among Different Religious Groups

Gallup, using data from their daily tracking polls, has released some new analysis providing insight into the current approval ratings of Obama by different religious groups. Bottom line: Muslims (85%) and Jews (79%) were the two religious groups who had the highest approval ratings of Obama, followed by the Nonreligious (73%) and Catholics (67%). Protestants (58%) and Mormons (45%) had the lowest approval ratings, albeit both still with positive majorities.

Gallup provides this take-home message:
Obama's first 100 days have been successful by just about every public-opinion gauge. More than 6 in 10 Americans say he has met or exceeded their expectations, and a majority of every demographic subgroup of the population -- aside from Republicans and conservatives -- approves of the job he is doing.

Although Obama has dusted up some controversy among conservative Catholics and has stepped into the always-thorny Mideast political fray, his image thus far among Catholics seems untarnished, and his image among Jews, Muslims, and nonreligious Americans is extraordinarily positive. Protestants and Mormons are more conservative in their politics than members of other religions, and thus more moderate in their approval of Obama. But even among these groups, more approve of his job performance than disapprove.

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