Justice, Politics

Among Religious Groups, Jewish Americans Most Strongly Oppose War

Jews for PeaceThe Gallup News service reports:

“An analysis of Gallup Poll data collected since the beginning of 2005 finds that among the major religious groups in the United States, Jewish Americans are the most strongly opposed to the Iraq war. Catholics and Protestants are more or less divided in their views on the war, while Mormons are the most likely to favor it. Those with no religious affiliation also oppose the war, but not to the same extent that Jewish people do. The greater opposition to the war is not simply a result of high Democratic identification among U.S. Jews, as Jews of all political persuasions are more likely to oppose the war than non-Jews who share the same political leanings.”

It’s very interesting data… You can see the original Gallup release here.

9 thoughts on “Among Religious Groups, Jewish Americans Most Strongly Oppose War

  1. What about Muslims? I guess the 12,000 people polled didn’t include enough Muslims to get a sample. Or Buddhists, Hindus, Bahais…

  2. It’s been a while since I took a stats class, but a sample of 300 people (Jews) is within 6% of reflecting accurately the views of 6 million Jews – I don’t think so.

  3. incorrect – I’ve taken stats classes a lot more recently, and it sounds fine. Remember, the margin of error will depend on the measured variance. Six percent is a huge margin of error, remember, it’s plus or minus.

  4. Remember, the margin of error will depend on the measured variance.
    Well, ok Josh, if you want to get technical about it! But that wasn’t really the nature of the objection, now was it? No, it was more along the lines of the standard Republican “Maybe your grandfather was a gorilla, but not mine” or “global warming? LOL; LOL; it snowed last week! LOL.” No, I think we can safely assume the response would have been precisely the same if there were 3,000 or even 30,000 respondents. And if the survey had questioned every one of the 6,000,000 Jews in the U.S., then we would have heard about the “liberal bias” of the questionnaire. Remember, there is never a fact that dittoheads can’t wish into the cornfield with ignorance and paranoia.

  5. David, the vitriol for someone who might have views that disagree with yours: “ignorance and paranoia” – your response exhibits an advanced degree of paranoia and unwillingness to listen to others who don’t share your (open minded free speech supporting?) views. My question was actually a factual one – I remembered that a sample of 1200 would produce very accurate results, it struck me that a sample of 300 was way too small – since Josh seemed reasonable and he came back with a fact based response, I actually read no more and accepted what he said. I’d suggest that you, however, might do a little soul searching about you abusive and overwrought response.

  6. incorrect,
    I don’t think I need to do any soul searching, and will explain exactly waht my vitriol was about. Your claims about my paranoia, and my ostensibly absuive and overwrought response, would be entirely plausible if it were based on nothing more than the explicit content of your objection to JB’s post. It wasn’t. I didn’t take your comment at face value. Instead, it was based on my belief that you had never submitted a comment – not one – that hadn’t attacked the left for its opposition to the Iraq war, to Bush, to the Occupation, and to the Jewish right, both here and in Israel.
    Now if that were the only issue, I’d think you might have a fair claim of closed-mindedness regarding views with which I disagree. But it isn’t. To the best of my recollection, your claims aren’t merely that the left is wrong about the war (and the other above-referenced issues), but are of the “liberals-are-guilty-of appeasement,” “liberals-hate-America,” “liberals-don’t-support the-troops” variety. Of course, I may be wrong; perhaps your comment was a completely straightforward statistics-based objection concerning sample size, with no implications as to any alleged bias that would overstate Jewish oposition to the war. If so, then my vitriol was misplaced and I apologize. However, if the comment did carry the implications I thought, then there are no problems regarding open-mindedness or free speech in my response. Quite simply, Republicans can’t control themselves when confronted with an instance of liberals condemning the views of Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly, et al., and excoriating those who embrace them: “See; they’re doing exactly the same thing!! They’re the ones who are intolerant! It’s them. Them.”
    Wrong. If the dispute is the wisdom of the war, then, yes, there is an obligation of open-mindedness. However, liberals have absolutely no obligation to be “open-minded” about whether they are guilty of treason; whther they espouse appeasement; whether they support the troops; whether they hate America; whether they support the “gay agenda.” Likewise, tolerance obligates liberal Jews to discuss whether or not the Occupation is justified. It does not require them to debate whether they are collaborators with the enemies of Israel. Here’s the rule: Liberalism requires liberals to tolerate everything but intolerance. Don’t like abortions? Don’t have one. Think gay sex is evil? Don’t have any. Think Wooly Mammoth fossils were deposited just before the Pilgrims landed? No problem; send your kids to anti-evolution school. On the other hand, you want to tell me what I can do in the sack? Then we got a problem. When it comes to such intolerance, not only is there no obligation of “open-mindedness,” but liberals should use every resource at their disposal to demonize, ridicule and marginalize those who espouse it. For pricisely the same reason, liberals have absolutely no reason to support the “free speech” of those who would deny it to others. That’s why it’s perfectly consistent with free speech for Germany to outlaw Naziism. Just as it is for Israel to have outlawed the excerable Kach.

  7. “An analysis of Gallup Poll data collected since the beginning of 2005 finds that among the major religious groups in the United States, Jewish Americans are the most strongly opposed to the Iraq war”
    I guess my mother was right. Jews are smarter.

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