Religion, age, and location were important factors in shaping respondents’ views. “There are four demographic groups in which the dominant opinion is that Islam is inherently violent: those who describe themselves as very conservative (62 percent), seniors (53 percent), those who live in rural areas (52 percent), and born-again Christians (51 percent),” said J. Ann Selzer, president of West Des Moines-based Selzer & Co., which conducted the poll. “Those are the constituencies that drive up the overall percentage among likely Republican caucus-goers.”

In either party, Selzer said, “the majority do not damn the whole religion for the actions of a few.” Still, among Republicans, “you have more than one in three that considers it a violent religion.”