Only 57% of the non-religious would support a well-qualified Evangelical Christian? But 82% of them would support a well-qualified Muslim?
I'm at a loss of words.
I think a lot of them probably assume that any evangelical Christian president would be very conservative, and I get the impression a lot of liberals don't realize how much more socially conservative the average Muslim is than the average evangelical Christian...
True. Islam is very conservative, and I've pointed out the inconsistency of secular liberals giving Islam a pass while calling out Christian conservatives for crazy stuff. However, in this case, it may be understandable why they'd rather have a Muslim POTUS than a Christian fundamentalist. After all, a Muslim will not get elected President by promoting Sharia Law. If a Muslim gets that far, he or she will have been well-assimilated into American society. Also, he or she will know what being a minority in America is like, and will have cosmopolitan views and probably not push for anti-gay laws or other discriminatory policies.
A Christian Fundamentalist who gets to be President would be more likely to believe that he has a duty to uphold the "norms and values" of this "Christian nation" and its majority, and more likely to promote socially discriminatory policies.