Poll: U.S. Protestant senior pastors split on whether 'Islamic State' represents true Islam

c. 2014 USA Today

(RNS) More than a quarter of Americans—but nearly half of senior Protestant pastors—say the self-described Islamic State offers a true representation of Islamic society, according to a pair of new surveys by LifeWay Research.

The findings that indicate many Americans have a dim outlook on Islam come as President Obama sent a formal request to Congress on Wednesday (February 11) to authorize the use of military force to combat the Islamic State. Meanwhile, police in North Carolina tried to determine whether the shooting deaths of three Muslim students were hate-motivated.