WASHINGTON: Americans are about seven times more likely to say that the Trump administration has hurt Muslims as they are to say it has helped them, says a survey released on Monday.

The survey was conducted in February by the Washington based Pew Research Center and included “too few Muslims” as the researchers wanted to analyse their response separately.

Forty-eight per cent of those interviewed said the Trump administration had dealt with Muslims unfairly, compared to 7 per cent who said it had not. The majority also said that the Trump administration’s policies had helped evangelicals.

The support for Muslims was the highest among Jews and the religiously unaffiliated – two groups that consistently identify as politically liberal and Democratic. Majorities in both groups — six-in-ten or more — said they believed the Trump administration had hurt Muslims.

The surveyors identified the religiously unaffiliated as atheists, agnostics and people who describe their beliefs as “nothing in particular.”

Among all US adults, 7 per cent said the Trump administration had helped Muslims, 42 per cent said it did not make much difference and 48 per cent said it hurt them. Among Protestants 9 per cent said the administration helped them, 51 per cent said it made no difference and 37 per cent said it hurt them.

Among White Evangelical Protestants, 12 per cent said it hurt them, 58 per cent said it made no difference and 25 per cent said it hurt Muslims. Among White Protestants, 8 per cent said the Trump administration helped Muslims, 49 per cent said it made no difference and 40 per cent said it hurt them. Among Catholics, 8 per cent said it helped them, 47 per cent said it made no difference and 41 per cent said it hurt them.

Among Black Protestants, only 4 per cent said the administration helped Muslims, 39 per cent said it made no difference and 55 per cent said it hurt them. Among the Jews, 8 per cent said it helped them 28 per cent said it made no difference and 64 per cent said it hurt them. Among the Unaffiliated, 5 per cent said the administration helped Muslims, 32 per cent said it made no difference and 61 per cent said it hurt them.

More than four-in-ten US adults — 43 perc ent — said the Trump administration had helped evangelical Christians, though a similar share — 44 per cent — said the administration has had no effect on this group. Just 11 per cent of Americans said the Trump administration had hurt evangelical Christians.

Views on this question varied by respondents’ religious affiliation. Among white evangelical Protestants themselves, most felt that the Trump administration has had a positive impact on their affairs. About six-in-ten — 59 per cent — said the administration had helped evangelicals, while only 7 per cent said it had hurt them. But 64 per cent Jewish respondents believed the Trump administration had helped evangelical Christians, but only 21 per cent black Protestants shared this view.

Opinions about the Trump administration’s impact on Jews were more mixed. Among Jews themselves, 40 per cent said the administration had helped Jews, 36 per cent said it hurt them, and 23 per cent it had not made much difference.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2020