“Religion becomes a signal and a marker, an easy shorthand for Americans’ moral judgment,” said Douglas Hartmann, an author of the study along with fellow sociologists Penny Edgell, Evan Stewart and Joseph Gerteis.

A new study from sociologists at the University of Minnesota, which analysed Americans’ perceptions of minority faith and racial groups, found that their disapproval of Muslims has almost doubled from about 26 per cent 10 years ago to 45.5 per cent in 2016.

Amid increasing focus on national security and in the wake of multiple terrorist attacks around the world, the study found that almost half of those surveyed would not want their child to marry a Muslim, compared to just 33.5 per cent of people a decade earlier.

“Religion becomes a signal and a marker, an easy shorthand for Americans’ moral judgment,” said Douglas Hartmann, an author of the study along with fellow sociologists Penny Edgell, Evan Stewart and Joseph Gerteis.

“But that is not the only thing going on with Muslims. It’s more complicated.”

Muslims have surpassed atheists to become the most disliked group in the US. Out of 2,500 respondents, 45.5 per cent said Muslims and 41.9 per cent said atheists.

A decade ago, atheists were the most unpopular group, with 39.6 percent of people disapproving of them and 26.3 percent disapproving of Muslims, it said.

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