Survey: Support for terror suspect torture differs among the faithful

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey.

More than half of people who attend services at least once a week -- 54 percent -- said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is "often" or "sometimes" justified. Only 42 percent of people who "seldom or never" go to services agreed, according to the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

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.

The analysis is based on a Pew Research Center survey of 742 American adults conducted April 14-21. 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 president of the National Association of Evangelicals, Leith Anderson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The survey asked: "Do you think the use of torture against suspected terrorists in order to gain important information can often be justified, sometimes be justified, rarely be justified, or never be justified?"
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Roughly half of all respondents -- 49 percent -- said it is often or sometimes justified. A quarter said it never is.

The religious group most likely to say torture is never justified was Protestant denominations -- such as Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians -- categorized as "mainline" Protestants, in contrast to evangelicals. Just over three in 10 of them said torture is never justified. A quarter of the religiously unaffiliated said the same, compared with two in 10 white non-Hispanic Catholics and one in eight evangelicals.

"The religious group most likely to say torture is never justified was Protestant denominations -- such as Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians -- categorized as "mainline" Protestants, in contrast to evangelicals. Just over three in 10 of them said torture is never justified. A quarter of the religiously unaffiliated said the same, compared with two in 10 white non-Hispanic Catholics and one in eight evangelicals."

I was raised Episcopalian and I'm Lutheran now. lol

So do you follow with majority on the survey then?

Torture puts us at the same level as those we claim to be so much better than. It has never been shown to prevent an attack and the information gathered from it is unreliable.

Torture puts us at the same level as those we claim to be so much better than. It has never been shown to prevent an attack and the information gathered from it is unreliable.

Using torture makes us no better than those we vilify. It proves we are as monstrous as our enemies, creates martyrs and helps recruit others to hate us.

We mustn't forget who we are supposed to be dealing with...

An eye for an eye is not a bad idea in a case of kill or be killed, is it, unless one is Ghandi or Jesus?

If it is then lay down and die, I will not!

The validity of the intelligence by which the decisions are being based upon is/was suspect, but we cannot attempt to place the responsibility for that lack of information upon the Bush administration though, it would be wrongfully placed.

I am reminded of the Japanese American situation in WWII... sadly enough, there were no cases found or even officially charged for treason or espionage...



A huge mistake!!! HUGE!!!

Land of the free? I would like to believe that we have grown in our maturity as a nation, but evidence suggests otherwise.

Torture puts us at the same level as those we claim to be so much better than. It has never been shown to prevent an attack and the information gathered from it is unreliable.

praise the Lord and pass the nipple clamps

Clover or clothespin?

12VDC