Muslims constitute less than 2% of the U.S. population.
Posted by The Gerry Callahan Show, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
The Gerry Callahan ShowAug 4, 2026
Every major estimate in the sources puts U.S. Muslims below 2% of the population: Pew's 2026 figure is about 1.6% (5.5 million), and earlier Pew and PRRI estimates are about 1.1% and 1%. The claim faithfully paraphrases the post's 'not even 2% of the country' and is graded as stated.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… I think we have to wake up. Is, I don't even understand the argument. I've been reading about it, this bill in Massachusetts. Why? I mean, what, how did they earn special status? How? I'll tell you how: political pressure. I mean, they're, they're not even 2% of the country, and yet they have this outsized influence on our politics, where you have a state, a deep blue state, a completely gone, destroyed state in Massachusetts, where, when there's a state job or a state contract that has to go out, Muslims, that's a religion, …
The Gerry Callahan Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Reuters (tier1, published 2026-09-08) citing Pew Research Center says Muslims number about 5.5 million and make up about 1.6% of the U.S. population.[1]
Supports. Wikipedia, citing Pew's 2026 estimate, puts Muslims at roughly 1.6% of the total U.S. population.[3]
Supports. Pew's earlier demographic portrait estimates Muslims at roughly 1.1% of the total population, and a 2026 world population review source says 'a little more than 1%'.[4][5]
Supports. PRRI's 2017 survey finds Muslims are each roughly 1% of the public.[6]
Context. CFR (2011) says estimates range from under two million to seven million, with the highest implying about 2% of the population. That is at the boundary but does not exceed 2%.[7]
Context. Older estimates (CIA Factbook via PolitiFact, 2009) put the figure at about 0.6%, further below 2%.[2]
Sources
7 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 5 not rated
- 1Republicans are making Muslims a campaign issue in the 2026 US ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Obama claims America is one of the largest Muslim countriespolitifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Islam in the United States - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 41. Demographic portrait of Muslim Americanspewresearch.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Muslim Population by State 2026worldpopulationreview.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6America's Changing Religious Identityprri.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7Muslims in the United States | Council on Foreign Relationscfr.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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