A public opinion poll from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that more than one-third of white evangelicals (34 percent) in America believe that Muslims wish to establish Sharia law within the United States (which, again, would clearly violate the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution, and is therefore impossible). Not surprisingly, the percentage was even higher—52 percent—among respondents who said that they rely on FOX News Channel as their primary source of news.

XREF: Connects to broader research on media influence and partisan news consumption shaping political beliefs. QUESTION: Worth investigating whether causality runs from Fox viewership to belief, or self-selection draws viewers who already hold such beliefs.

XREF: Relates to broader research on how Fox News viewership correlates with specific misperceptions about Islam and other groups; echoes similar findings about news media and belief formation. QUESTION: Would be worth investigating how Sharia law misperception rates compare across other religious/political demographics, and whether the Fox News correlation holds after controlling for education and partisanship.

Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Gl…, loc. 609