Churchgoers Likely to Support Torture

This is both surprising and it isn’t: According to a new poll from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, the more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support torture. According to CNN, “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.” More than six in ten white evangelical protestants said that torture is sometimes justified. Mainline Protestants were most opposed, with more than three in ten saying torture is never justified. 49 percent of all respondents said torture is sometimes or often justified, while a quarter said it never is.