By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Data you can't ignore: Americans are nearly as worried about religious hatred as they are income ine
530fd61607
The survey asked people from the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the United States what they believe to be the biggest global threat. Religious hatred was the second biggest concern for Americans, with 24 percent of votes. - photo by Jan van den Brink, istockphoto.com/Killroy

Americans see religious hatred as a serious concern for the world, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

The survey asked people from the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the United States what they believe to be the biggest global threat. Religious hatred was the second biggest concern for Americans, with 24 percent of votes.

Ranking first on American minds was income inequality with 27 percent — which isn’t surprising given America's overall grim outlook on the economy.

“Taking the median percentages across the 28 countries surveyed in both 2007 and 2014, there has been a shift toward concerns about religious and ethnic hatred as the world’s top problem,” Pew reported.

The United States only came in behind the Middle East (34 percent) in concern over religious hatred. The Middle East and the United States have both been snarled in wars tied to religious factions — like the Iraq war or thecurrent ISIS crisis — that have also included concerns over nuclear weapons, the third biggest concern for the U.S., according to the survey.

Email: hscribner@deseretdigital.com
Twitter: @herbscribner