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Evangelicals fear Muslims; atheists fear Christians: How Americans mistrust one another

Related Topics: Evangelicalism, no religion, Muslim

Evangelicals look down on atheists’ values. Nonreligious people fear that conservative Christians want to limit their freedoms. Republicans worry that Muslims pose a threat to their physical safety.

In short, many American identity groups are awfully concerned about one another. That’s the takeaway from a new survey, released Thursday morning by Baylor University, which polled Americans about their perceptions of their fellow citizens.

Part of the study, called “Fear of The Other,” examined negative attitudes toward four groups — atheists, conservative Christians, Jews and Muslims — and found that Americans generally harbor fears and judgment about all four.