via Crooked Timber, the purest possible illustration of the thesis that to many Americans “Muslim” means “dark and dangerous“, nothing more:
There is little evidence that the recent news about Obama’s affiliation with the United Church of Christ has dispelled the impression that he is Muslim. While voters who heard “a lot” about Reverend Wright’s controversial sermons are more likely than those who have not to correctly identify Obama as a Christian, they are not substantially less likely to still believe that he is Muslim. Nearly one-in-ten (9%) of those who heard a lot about Wright still believe that Obama is Muslim.
For the record, slightly — very slightly — more than 53% of Americans believe that Obama is a Christian. This should tell us aquite a lot about the so-called persecution of atheists in America.