A slim majority of Americans, roughly 51 percent, say the would oppose accepting Syrian refugees, according to a new Quinnipiac University Poll.
However, 43 percent of those surveyed said they would not oppose Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States. The results broke down along party lines, with 82 percent of Republicans opposing accepting refugees fleeing the war-torn country while 13 percent were in favor, and 74 percent of Democrats backing their acceptance while 22 percent were against.
Fifty-five percent of American voters say Islam is a peaceful religion, while 28 say it encourages violence.
Among Republicans, 39 percent called it peaceful and 47 percent said it encourages violence. Democrats sided more overwhelmingly with the opposite position, with 73 percent calling Islam peaceful and 13 percent violent.
“American voters are making a distinction between Syrian refugees and Muslims in general. A bare majority says keep the Syrians out, but an overwhelming majority rejects proposals to ban all Muslims from our shores,” Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll, said. “Concern about a terror attack is widespread, but it is more likely lurking around the corner than imported from a distant land an ocean away, voters say.”
Fifty-five percent of Americans worry the U.S. government is not doing enough to protect the homeland, while just 29 percent say the government has gone too far. Republicans were far more likely to worry that the government has not gone far enough than not (76 percent to 17 percent), while 45 percent of Democrats said they were more concerned with privacy than security and 37 percent said the opposite.
The telephone poll of roughly 1,140 registered U.S voters was Dec. 16-20 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
