Very telling: "It did not include analysis of groups other than white evangelicals, white non-Hispanic Catholics, white mainline Protestants and the religiously unaffiliated, because the sample size was too small." The sample size was, in fact, 742, and I don't see anything that indicates where the sample was taken. I think that location would affect the results.
Also, according to the article, just over 3 in ten "Mainline Protestants" say "torture is never justified," vs. 4 in 10 unaffiliated. So the article would appear to contradict itself when it states "People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back (torture)."
I think it's a hideously badly written article, and possibly badly written survey. You're quoting numbers from two different bits there, though: --- White evangelical Protestants were the religious group most likely to say torture is often or sometimes justified -- more than six in 10 supported it. People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back it. Only four in 10 of them did. ... Just over three in 10 of [mainline protestants] said torture is never justified. A quarter of the religiously unaffiliated said the same, --- (emphasis mine, of course.)
So the 'least likely to back torture' line is about how many people of each religious group agreed with "torture is sometimes or often justified". 60% of them did not agree with that statement, though only 25% of them said it was never justified (in the other paragraph quoted), so I'm not sure where the other 35% of them were voting. I guess Rarely justified?
In other news, OMG, that's a badly written article. Also, how about the first chart in the survey, where it says "Total US population" and then has a note at the bottom of the chart that says "sample size = 742."
That was the most confusing breakdown of religions ever in that article. I kept getting confused as to how Protestants were both the most and least likely to approve of it.
I think there's a "cause vs. correlation" argument to be made here. (Also, proportionally more Black Americans go to church than white Americans, and I'd be -very- surprised if more of them supported the US torture policy.)
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Also, according to the article, just over 3 in ten "Mainline Protestants" say "torture is never justified," vs. 4 in 10 unaffiliated. So the article would appear to contradict itself when it states "People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back (torture)."
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---
White evangelical Protestants were the religious group most likely to say torture is often or sometimes justified -- more than six in 10 supported it. People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back it. Only four in 10 of them did.
...
Just over three in 10 of [mainline protestants] said torture is never justified. A quarter of the religiously unaffiliated said the same,
---
(emphasis mine, of course.)
So the 'least likely to back torture' line is about how many people of each religious group agreed with "torture is sometimes or often justified". 60% of them did not agree with that statement, though only 25% of them said it was never justified (in the other paragraph quoted), so I'm not sure where the other 35% of them were voting. I guess Rarely justified?
In other news, OMG, that's a badly written article. Also, how about the first chart in the survey, where it says "Total US population" and then has a note at the bottom of the chart that says "sample size = 742."
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Yes, the 742=remotely valid mae me LOL.
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I smell agenda.
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