Some 53-percent of college professors and faculty hold an unfavorable opinion of Christian evangelicals, according to a study conducted by the San Francisco-based Institute for Jewish and Community Research. Their figures are derived from a national poll of 1,200 faculty at colleges and universities. Though the study was initial intended to measure anti-Semitic sentiment, it found a warm and inviting environment for the Jewish faith and a hostile one to evangelical views.

In the words of the institute’s director and chief pollster Gary Tobin, “There is no question this is revealing bias and prejudice.” While the poll does not measure how professors act, the poll reveals that a shocking number of professors hold a very negative opinion of Evangelical Christians. It would be easy to discount a poll if only one in four or one in three professors thought negatively of Evangelical Christians, but this is over half of the professors polled.

In America, the largest religious group is Evangelical Christians, which makes up 33 percent of the population. However, only 14 percent of America’s professors identify themselves as Evangelical.

The column in the California Polytechnic State University newspaper does not make clear why the study surveyed opinions on evangelicals as well as on members of the Jewish faith. The entire report can be obtained directly from the institute.