Some people have commented on the difference between Norway’s response to its recent terrorist attacks and the U.S. response to its past terrorist attacks. While Norwegian leaders have elevated the values of free speech and democracy in the wake of the country’s attacks, the U.S. response to the Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11 was to dramatically increase security measures and retaliate against the offenders.
Do worshipers support the U.S. military’s fight against terrorism, or are they opposed to these efforts? In 2008 we asked worshipers what their opinions were of the war in Iraq or other U.S. military actions against terrorism when these actions began (in October 2001). We also asked these same worshipers for their current opinion of the government’s anti-terror campaign. While people’s recollection of their stance seven years earlier might be flawed, these responses let us examine how worshipers believe their opinions have changed.
Worshipers have diverse views on U.S. military actions to fight terrorism. The largest group of worshipers said that in 2001 they favored military actions against terrorism (41%). Yet many other worshipers reported having mixed feelings about these actions (32%) or opposing them (26%). In 2008 the proportions of worshipers favoring, opposing, and having mixed feelings about the U.S. military response to terrorism were even more equally distributed.
Worshipers have largely stable opinions about the U.S. government’s actions against terrorism. More than seven in ten worshipers held the same opinion about these actions in both 2001 and 2008 (73%). Three in ten worshipers report consistently favoring U.S. military responses to terrorism, while another 23% continue to have mixed feelings about the U.S. government’s fight against terrorism. One-fifth of worshipers (20%) have always been opposed to the U.S. military’s war on terror.
The remaining 27% of worshipers report that they changed their opinion of the U.S. military’s pursuit of terrorists from 2001 to 2008. Among worshipers with changed opinions, nearly two out of three became less favorable in their opinions about U.S. military intervention against terrorism (63%; 17% overall) and the other third became more favorable in their opinions (37%; 10% overall).
U.S. worshipers are not a monolithic voting bloc. Worshipers’ diverse opinions about U.S. responses to terrorism evidence the political diversity between and within our country’s congregations. These diverse opinions reflect those of the general U.S. population. Americans do not always support (or reject) the government’s actions against terrorism. These varying opinions suggest that fighting terrorism is an issue filled with ambiguity and complexity. No matter how the U.S. government responds to terrorism, some people are going to be pleased and some are going to be disappointed.
How do you personally feel about U.S. military actions against terrorism? Do your religious beliefs have any bearing on your opinion?
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