Public support for the ‘Ground Zero mosque’ is low, no matter the proposed location

In 2010, a debate erupted about plans to construct a mosque (as part of a larger multicultural center) approximately two blocks from Ground Zero in New York City, with opposition centering around the perceived insensitivity of locating such a building so close to Ground Zero. Brian Schaffner looks at whether distance was, in fact, an important factor influencing citizens’ opposition to the mosque. Using survey research, he finds that opposition to the mosque was unaffected by how far the mosque would be located from Ground Zero, but strongly influenced by factors such as partisanship, ideology, and tolerance for out groups.