Faith Digest: Americans split on Muslims

Americans split on Muslims. Americans are divided almost evenly in how they view Muslims, according to a survey released by the Arab American Institute in Washington. But the survey, which also gauged views on Mormons, Jews, Catholics, evangelicals, Buddhists and Hindus, also found a striking generational gap and significant differences between political groups. The online survey found 41 percent of Americans had unfavorable views of Muslims, compared to 40 percent who held favorable views. The poll surveyed 1,052 people on Aug. 15 and 16. More than half of Republicans held unfavorable views of Muslims and Arabs in general in the latest poll, although opinions improved when asked about Muslim Americans and Arab Americans in particular. Among Democrats, 29 percent had unfavorable views of Muslims and Arabs, 37 percent had unfavorable views of Mormons, and 22 percent had unfavorable views of evangelical Christians. While Muslims generally were viewed more unfavorably than other faiths, they did fare better than some groups among younger demographics. For example, 34 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds viewed Muslims unfavorably, 37 percent viewed Mormons unfavorably, and 35 percent had unfavorable views of evangelicals. Younger Americans gave Christian groups in general an approval rating about 20 percentage points lower than seniors 65 years and older. The report also found 42 percent of Americans thought Muslims could do a good job in government, while 32 percent said they could not because their loyalty was suspect.

High on worship? A University of Washington study posits worship services at megachurches can trigger feelings of transcendence and changes in brain chemistry—a spiritual "high" that keeps congregants coming back for more. James Wellman and Katie Corcoran wrote the study, "'God is like a drug': Explaining Interaction Ritual Chains in American Megachurches," presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Denver. The authors theorize the spiritual high from megachurch services is experienced as an "oxytocin cocktail" of shared transcendent experience and the brain's release of oxytocin, a chemical thought to play a part in social interaction. Emotion and group experience have been shown to raise levels of oxytocin. Megachurches use technology and appeals to emotion to create a shared experience in congregations that number in the thousands, Corcoran noted. Researchers observed services and conducted 470 interviews and about 16,000 surveys at 12 megachurches for the University of Washington study.

Multisite churches top 5,000. The number of congregations that host worship services at more than one physical location has grown to more than 5,000 in the last decade, according to a new report by Warren Bird, research director of Leadership Network. Bird tracked the number of churches meeting in more than one place for his Dallas-based church think tank, and he combined his findings with Faith Communities Today surveys. Multisite churches have grown from fewer than 200 in 2001 to 1,500 in 2006, to an estimated 3,000 in 2009, to more than 5,000 today.

–Compiled from Religion News Service