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People gather to pay tribute to victims of the terrorist attack against the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015, at JFK Plaza, commonly known as Love Park, in Philadelphia. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)

By Anne-Gerard Flynn | aflynn@repub.com
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on January 29, 2015 at 5:07 PM

A new Pew Research Center poll on the publication of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons indicates that a majority of informed Americans, 60 percent compared to 28, felt it was OK for the French satirical magazine to have printed cartoons of the prophet Muhammed. Reasons cited include freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Support was strongest among whites, males, Republicans and those with a college degree or higher. There was also support for publication among Catholics, Protestants and those not affiliated with any religion. Non-whites, females and Democrats objected. Reasons for opposition were linked to religious tolerance, respect and that publication encourages violence.

Earlier this month, the Paris office of the magazine, which has printed cartoons of Muhammed in its own fight against intolerance, was attacked by gunmen. Som 12 people,including the editor, were murdered and others wounded, in what was called France's worst terrorist attack for half a century, and a result of the magazine's publication of such cartoons. Muhammed has been depicted visually through history, scholars say, but has become an issue in the post 9/11 era.

Nearly half of those Americans surveyed, in the recent poll, who were aware of the Charlie Hebdo attack, felt the attack on the magazine would not have an influence on U.S. media outlets willingness to publicize material that might offend people's religious beliefs. Some U.S. outlets did not publish the Charlie Hebdo cover printed in the aftermath of the attacks.