A majority of white evangelicals approve of Trump's Muslim ban

A recent Pew Research Center poll reveals that President Donald Trump's de-facto Muslim ban — enacted via an executive order, signed in January, banning Syrian refugees as well as citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S. — is much more popular among some groups than others.

While only 38% of the total respondents said they approved of Trump's executive order, a substantial 76% of white evangelical Protestants said they approved of the policy, according to the Pew poll, which was released earlier this month. Only 22% said they disapproved of the order.

In comparison, 74% of people who identified as "unaffiliated" with a religion said they disapproved of the order.

An overwhelming majority of white evangelicals also reported being worried about extremism in the name of Islam around the world — 92% said they were "very" or "somewhat" concerned. And 89% of them said they were "very" or "somewhat" concerned about extremism in the name of Islam here in the U.S.

And white evangelicals were the only group surveyed that believed, as a majority, that there was a "great deal" or a "fair amount" of support for extremism among American Muslims. 

Trump's executive order regarding travel and immigration faced a number of challenges in court. It was blocked nationwide by a federal judge in February, and a panel of three appellate judges later upheld that decision. Rather than pursuing a legal defense of the original order, Trump is expected to sign a new executive order regarding immigration and refugees later this week.