TORONTO (JTA) — A new poll shows that a little more than half of Canadians have a favorable opinion of Judaism.
The national online survey, which was released last week, shows that while nearly three-quarters of Canadians have a favorable opinion of Christianity, 53 percent feel the same way about Judaism.
The poll of 1,000 adults conducted in April for Maclean’s magazine shows that 40 percent of respondents claim to have a good or basic understanding of Jewish teachings, compared to 86 percent for Christian teachings.
Christianity also dominated on the question of whether respondents have any friends who are followers of specific religions, with 89 percent of those polled reporting that they have a Christian friend. Judaism was second, at 45 percent.
Fifty-six percent of those polled by Angus Reid Strategies said they would find it acceptable for one of their children to marry a Jew.
Just 14 percent said Judaism "encourages violence." Islam led in that category, with 45 percent saying it encourages violence.
The survey showed that 68 percent oppose the public funding of private Jewish schools. Only 51 percent oppose tax dollars going to Catholic, evangelical or other Christian schools.
Sixty-two percent of respondents believe Canada’s laws and norms should not be modified to accommodate minorities.
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