Religion and Politics Among British Asians

Posted on May 15, 2010 by Clive D. Field

The British general election may have come and gone, but detailed results of the opinion polls conducted during the campaign are still becoming available. One such with religious interest is the ICM poll for the BBC Asian Network, conducted by telephone between 26 March and 4 April 2010 among a representative sample of Asian people aged 18 and over in Great Britain. The data tabulations are available at:

http://www.icmresearch.co.uk/pdfs/2010_april_BBC_asian_poll.pdf

The questions all related to political matters, with the results disaggregated by religious affiliation. The sample included 263 Muslims, 138 Hindus, 39 Sikhs and 51 of other religions. Although these sub-groups are still quite small, the numbers are appreciably greater than are to be found in comparable polls among the entire British electorate which were fielded during the general election campaign.

Some of the more interesting findings from a religious perspective include the following:

  • 70% of all Asians said that their religion would not influence their decision about which party to vote for. The proportion was highest among Hindus (84%) and Sikhs (81%). It was lowest for Muslims (60%), 11% of whom said that their faith would play a major part in determining their voting and 24% a little.
  • 41% of Muslims said the Labour Party best comprehends Asian issues, compared with 6% selecting the Conservatives and 13% the Liberal Democrats. Hindus were far more positive about the Conservatives (23%), although 37% of them still thought that Labour has the best understanding of Asian issues.
  • Party honours were more even when the question turned to which of the party leaders respondents would most like to invite over for a curry. Although Gordon Brown was out in front (nominated by 33% of Muslims and 36% of Hindus), David Cameron was not far behind (27% and 32% respectively).
  • Muslims were primarily exercised about the economy, health, education and foreign policy (including the war in Afghanistan). Each of these four issues was identified as important by 17% or 18% of Muslims. For Hindus and Sikhs the economy was twice as significant and foreign policy of virtually no interest.
  • Asylum and immigration were a preoccupation for just 4% of all Asians, although 56% supported a tougher government line in future, the figure ranging from 47% for Muslims to 66% for Hindus and 75% for Sikhs.
  • Muslims (47%) were less optimistic than Hindus (31%) or Sikhs (38%) about the prospect of Britain ever having an Asian prime minister. However, one-fifth of them (about the same proportion of all Asians) thought there might be one within 20 years.

Overall, the survey provides no strong evidence for a distinctively Asian religious vote. Only among Muslims does religion impinge to a limited extent on politics, and this seems disproportionately to be a function of their concerns about British foreign policy in Afghanistan, the military involvement there (as in Iraq beforehand) being seen to be in some senses a war on Islam.

Posted in Survey news | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Voting Intentions and Attitudes to Religious Minorities

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Clive D. Field

With just over a week to go before the general election, we are literally awash with opinion polls at present. Unfortunately, few of those conducted during the present campaign have featured faith-specific issues, while the relatively small sample sizes mean that we get few clues about the attitudes of people who support political parties other than the ‘big three’.

It thus seems appropriate to recall one very large scale survey which YouGov ran for Channel 4 in the lead-in to last year’s European parliamentary elections, when the ‘minor parties’ were expected to make a strong showing in Britain.

No fewer than 32,268 electors were interviewed online between 29 May and 4 June 2009, including 2,749 persons intending to vote for the Green Party, 4,306 for the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and 985 for the British National Party (BNP).

The findings, which have long been in the public domain at

http://www.yougov.co.uk/extranets/ygarchives/content/pdf/Megapoll_EuroElections.pdf

have attracted scant attention. For us, they are especially useful in highlighting opinions about religious minorities, specifically Jews and Muslims, by voting intentions.

10% of all voters considered that Jews suffered unfair discrimination in Britain. Green supporters were the most sympathetic (15%), with Labourites and Liberal Democrats on 12%, Conservatives and UKIP voters on 9% and the BNP on 6%.

6% overall thought the Jews benefited from unfair advantage in Britain. Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green supporters all stood at 5%, UKIP at 6% and the BNP at 12%.

Asked whether there was a major international conspiracy led by Jews and Communists to undermine traditional Christian values in Britain and other western countries, 17% said this was completely or partially true.

The proportion rose to 21% for UKIP and 33% for BNP voters, the other parties ranging from 9% (Greens) to 19% (Conservatives). Those who said the statement was completely untrue numbered 62% in the aggregate but only 48% in the case of BNP followers.  

Just 1% of the sample registered as holocaust deniers (and no more than 2% even for BNP voters). However, 8% of UKIP and 18% of BNP supporters thought the scale of the holocaust had been exaggerated.

Turning to Muslims, 21% of all voters held that they suffered unfair discrimination in Britain. The highest percentages were for the Greens (40%) and Liberal Democrats (33%), with Labour on 29% and the Conservatives on 15%. UKIP (8%) and BNP voters (3%) were least sympathetic to Muslims.

39% felt that Muslims in Britain enjoyed unfair advantages, and this figure rose to 61% in the case of UKIP and 70% for BNP voters. They were followed by the Conservatives on 44%, Labour on 27%, the Liberal Democrats on 26% and the Greens on 22%.

Still larger numbers agreed that, even in its ‘milder forms’, Islam constituted a serious danger to western civilization. 44% overall held this view, with 64% among UKIP and 79% BNP voters. Conservatives stood at 49%, Labour at 37%, Liberal Democrats at 32% and the Greens at 27%. Those in disagreement were 32%, with only the Greens achieving a majority (55%); among UKIP supporters the figure was 17% and for the BNP’s 7%.

Three conclusions emerge from these results. First, there is significantly more prejudice against Muslims than Jews. Second, the actual level of prejudice varies considerably according to the measure used and the wording of the question. Third, Green and Liberal Democrat voters are most tolerant (but by no means totally unprejudiced), and UKIP and (in particular) BNP supporters apparently most prejudiced against Jews and Muslims.

It should be noted that all the above data relate to the views of those intending to vote for one of the six political parties in May-June 2009. These views may not necessarily be current. Nor should they be confused with the official positions of each of the parties as set out in their general election manifestos or by their leadership.

Posted in Survey news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Muslim Voices

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Clive D. Field

The Department for Communities and Local Government has recently published two reports which illuminate, numerically, the attitudes of British Muslims.

The first is Helen Connolly, Attitudes, Values and Perceptions: Muslims and the General Population in 2007-08. This utilizes evidence from the 2007-08 Citizenship Survey to compare and contrast the opinions of Muslims (as a whole, and disaggregated by gender and two age groups – 16-24 and 25+) and those of the general population in England. The Muslim sample numbers 1,768.

Some data and/or comparisons are also drawn with the 2005 Citizenship Survey. There are three chapters, on engagement; cohesion, interaction and identity; and prejudice and discrimination.

The report paints, in several respects, an optimistic picture of Muslim opinion. In particular, Muslims are shown to have very positive views about the level of social cohesion in their local areas; to express a strong sense of belonging both to their neighbourhoods and to Britain; and to have high levels of trust in British institutions. However, there is a perception, among Muslims and the general population, that religious prejudice is widespread and on the increase.

The document (ISBN 978 1 4098 2190 8) is available for download at:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/pdf/1484586.pdf

The second report is Literature Review of Attitudes towards Violent Extremism amongst Muslim Communities in the UK. This is written by Sanah Sheikh, Chih Hoong Sin and Ewan King (all from the Office for Public Management) and Asima Shaikh (an independent researcher), and under commission from the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Chapter 4 (pp. 27-52) forms the core of the report, setting out research findings about violent extremism drawn from 36 studies relating to Muslim communities in the UK and published between 2000 and 2009. They were selected from a search of databases and websites in May-June 2009. The studies comprise a mixture of the quantitative and qualitative and of the national and local.

The selection sometimes seems arbitrary; for example, the 1990 Trust of Muslims in 2006 is considered but not that by the Islamic Human Rights Commission in 2004 (published in six volumes). However, some of the principal opinion polls of Muslims (by Gallup, GfK NOP, ICM, Pew and Populus) are featured.

Each study is assessed for quality against a range of criteria, and nearly all are judged to be of low or medium quality in providing evidence on the attitudes of Muslim communities in the UK towards violent extremism.

The document (ISBN 978 1 4098 2282 0) is available for download at:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/1513842.pdf

Posted in Official data | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Should the Burka Be Banned in Britain? Take 2

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Clive D. Field

A month after the publication of a ComRes poll for The Independent on whether the burka should be banned in Britain (see our earlier news post at http://www.brin.ac.uk/news/?p=45), another survey on the subject has just appeared.

This one is by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Financial Times. It was conducted online among a representative sample of 1,097 Britons aged 16-64 between 3 and 10 February 2010, and also in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United States and China.

Asked whether they wished to follow the French government’s lead in seeking a ban on the wearing of the burka, 57% of Britons said yes and 26% no, with 18% unsure.

This suggests that opinion against the burka has hardened somewhat since the ComRes poll (which used a more subtle battery of four questions).

The proportion in favour of banning the burka in Britain was less than in France (70%), Spain (65%) and Italy (63%), but more than in Germany (50%), the United States (33%) and China (27%).

Interviewees were further asked whether they would support a burka ban if it were accompanied by a clamp-down on the wearing of all religious icons, such as the Christian crucifix or the Jewish cappel.

Only 9% of Britons indicated that they would back this more generic ban on religious dress, and even in France the proportion favouring this move was reduced to 22%.

The Harris press release about the poll (which also covered attitudes to body scanners in airports) will be found at:

http://news.harrisinteractive.com/profiles/investor/ResLibraryView.asp?BzID=1963&ResLibraryID=36557&Category=1777

An article by James Blitz (‘Majority supports outlawing the burka’) appeared on page 4 of the Financial Times for 2 March 2010. This can be accessed online (but without the graphic) at:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d11ac1e0-2598-11df-9bd3-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1

Posted in Survey news | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Attitudes to Muslims: Round-Up of Recent YouGov Polls

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Clive D. Field

Founded only in 2000, YouGov has rapidly become one of the best-known polling companies in contemporary Britain. It operates mainly via online interviews among a panel of more than 250,000 adults aged 18 and over.

Although YouGov has undertaken relatively few religion-specific surveys, relevant questions often lie buried among some of its more general studies. The following data on attitudes to Islam and Muslims have been taken from the tabulations of recent polls posted at:

http://www.yougov.co.uk/corporate/archives/press-archives-intro.asp

  • Only 13% of all adults feel that most Muslims are integrated into British society, 60% maintaining that many lead completely separate lives and a further 21% that most lead completely separate lives (fieldwork 12-13 November 2009, n= 2,026)
  • 80% of all adults support Government’s recent decision to ban the radical group Islam4UK, which was planning to hold a march through Wootton Bassett in protest at the war in Afghanistan, while 14% disagree, arguing that freedom of speech is more important (fieldwork 14-15 January 2010, n= 2,033)
  • 81% of all adults consider that Anjem Choudary, Islam4UK’s spokesperson, is cynically abusing the benefits system by claiming £25,000 a year in benefits, despite being a qualified lawyer (fieldwork 14-15 January 2010, n= 2,033)
  • 32% of all adults are worried that they and their immediate family might be victims of an attack by Islamic terrorists in Britain, whereas 64% are not concerned (fieldwork 5-7 January 2010, n= 10,344)
  • 62% of all adults are convinced that Islamic terrorism is a slightly or much bigger problem for Britain than other Western countries, with 29% thinking it is no worse a problem (fieldwork 5-7 January 2010, n= 10,344)
  • Of adults believing Islamic terrorism to be a worse problem for Britain, 38% attribute this to Britain’s relationship with the USA, 35% to the failure to punish or expel Islamic radicals who preach violence, and 24% to the number of Muslim immigrants in Britain (fieldwork 5-7 January 2010, n= 10,344)
  • 42% of young people aged 14-25 believe that Muslims often suffer unfair discrimination in Britain, as against 20% thinking this to be true of the Jews, the other religious group enquired about – the numbers feeling they received unfair advantage were 21% and 5% respectively (fieldwork 18-25 November 2009, n= 3,994)
Posted in Survey news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Should the Burka be Banned in Britain? A New Public Opinion Poll

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Clive D. Field

The debate raging in France and Italy about a possible ban on the wearing of the burka in public has prompted The Independent to test opinion on the subject in Great Britain. 

The newspaper commissioned ComRes to conduct a telephone poll among a representative sample of 1,016 Britons aged 18 and over on 27-28 January 2010.

Four statements were put to respondents:

  • that there should be no legal restrictions on wearing a burka: 43% agreed and 52% disagreed
  • that it should be illegal to wear a burka in places like banks and airports: 64% agreed and 33% disagreed
  • that schools should be allowed to prevent teachers from wearing burkas if they wish: 61% agreed and 35% disagreed
  • that it should be illegal to wear a burka in any public place: 36% agreed and 59% disagreed

A summary of the poll findings appears in an article by Andrew Grice in The Independent for 1 February.

Grice’s headline conclusion was that ‘The British public support some restrictions on wearing the burka in public but oppose an outright ban.’

The article is also available online at:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/poll-shows-britons-back-limited-curbs-on-the-veil-1885163.html

The full computer tabulations, with results disaggregated by gender, age, social grade and region, are available in PDF format at:

http://www.comres.co.uk/page16534040.aspx

The poll is published shortly after the appearance of a book incorporating the latest data from the annual British Social Attitudes survey.

In one of its chapters David Voas and Rodney Ling demonstrated significant negativity towards Muslims in Britain, far more so than towards any other religious group.

Posted in Survey news | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments