Rasmussen Reports, an outstandingly reliable, unbiased poling agency, conducted a recent survey to determine public opinion on Notre Dame’s decision to award an honorary Doctor of Law degree to President Barack Obama during this spring’s Commencement service. Their finding:
Fifty-two percent (52%) of Americans nationwide say the University of Notre Dame should have followed guidelines set by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and refrained from awarding an honorary degree to President Obama.
By a 60% to 25% margin, U.S. Catholics say the university should not award an honorary degree to the president. Sixty-six percent (66%) of Evangelical Christians share that view along with 52% of other Protestants.
However, a plurality (45%) of those who do not have Christian affiliations say the university should give the president the honorary degree.
Read the whole thing.
You may recall that Mary Ann Glendon, a former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, rejected a prestigious Notre Dame award rather than participate in the Commencement service during which Obama would receive an honorary degree.