Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
What Political Issues Do Americans Hear About in Church?
Two-thirds of U.S. adults who regularly attend religious services say they have heard their clergy speak about at least one political or social issue in the past few months. Of the seven topics we asked about, abortion, Israel and homosexuality were among the most commonly cited.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Fresh data delivered Saturday mornings
Latest Publications
-
How much do you know about NATO? Take our quiz
Test your NATO knowledge and see how you compare to U.S. adults. Americans answer half of five factual questions correctly, on average.
-
What Political Issues Do Americans Hear About in Church?
Most U.S. adults who go to religious services say they’ve recently heard from their clergy about at least one political or social issue.
-
Trading volume on prediction markets has soared in recent months
Prediction market trading volume has risen from under $5 billion monthly in mid 2025 to nearly $24 billion in April 2026, with sports dominating.
-
10 facts about Americans and marijuana
Nearly nine-in-ten U.S. adults say marijuana should be legal either for medical or recreational use. Just 11% say the drug should not be legal at all.
-
Have Americans’ wages kept up with inflation? That depends
Determining whether workers’ wages have kept up with inflation depends on many factors.
Most Popular
Sign up for The Briefing
Weekly updates on the world of news & information
Politics & Policy
Americans See Health Care Costs, Deficit, Inflation as Big Problems Facing the Nation
Economic issues continue to dominate Americans’ ranking of the country’s top problems. Meanwhile, the share who say illegal immigration is a very big problem has dropped since the start of Trump’s second term.
Features
International Affairs
Americans remain critical of Trump administration’s approach to Iran
62% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the military action against Iran, and 59% say the U.S. made the wrong decision in using military force.
Most Americans Now Say U.S. Foreign Policy Ignores the Interests of Other Countries
Partisans hold different views on whether the U.S. contributes to peace, considers other countries’ interests and garners respect around the world.
Americans Have Become Less Confident in Trump’s Decision-Making on Ukraine
Republicans and Democrats still have differing views of the war in Ukraine, though their opinions of Russia and Putin are broadly negative.
Americans’ views of China have grown somewhat more positive in recent years
Most Americans still view China negatively, but a recent survey shows favorability has ticked up, especially among Democrats and younger adults. Fewer now call China an enemy.
Republicans have become less likely to say NATO membership benefits the U.S.
Around four-in-ten Republicans (38%) say the U.S. benefits at least a fair amount from being part of NATO – down from 49% last year. Among Democrats, 82% say this.
Religion
Americans have become more likely to say Trump is not too or not at all religious
Among Trump’s strongest supporters, relatively few people say they think he is very religious. Just 8% of Republicans and 5% of White evangelicals say this is the case.
Catholicism has lost people to religious switching in many countries, while Protestantism has gained in some
Within Christianity, religious switching has affected the two largest subgroups, Catholicism and Protestantism, differently.
Religious Radio Across America
Almost all U.S. adults live in range of a religious radio station, most commonly Christian radio. Stations tend to broadcast either mostly music or mostly talk.
Buddhism’s Recent Decline in East Asia
Buddhism is the only major religion whose global population shrank between 2010 and 2020. Learn why it declined in East Asia, particularly in Japan and South Korea.
Artificial Intelligence
Most new data centers in the U.S. are coming to rural areas
Over 1,500 new data centers are in development nationwide. Most will be built in rural areas, particularly the South and Midwest, marking a shift from urban locations.
Key findings about how Americans view artificial intelligence
Drawing on five years of Pew Research Center surveys, here are 13 findings about how Americans use and view AI, and where they see promise and risk.
How Americans view data centers’ impact in key areas, from the environment to jobs
More Americans say data centers have a negative effect on the environment, home energy costs and people’s quality of life nearby than say they have a positive effect.
How Teens Use and View AI
Just over half of U.S. teens say they’ve used chatbots for help with schoolwork, and 12% say they’ve gotten emotional support from these tools. Teens tend to view AI’s future impact on their lives more positively than negatively.
Our Methods
U.S. Surveys
Pew Research Center has deep roots in U.S. public opinion research. Launched as a project focused primarily on U.S. policy and politics in the early 1990s, the Center has grown over time to study a wide range of topics vital to explaining America to itself and to the world.
International Surveys
Pew Research Center regularly conducts public opinion surveys in countries outside the United States as part of its ongoing exploration of attitudes, values and behaviors around the globe.
Data Science
Pew Research Center’s Data Labs uses computational methods to complement and expand on the Center’s existing research agenda.
Demographic Research
Pew Research Center tracks social, demographic and economic trends, both domestically and internationally.
Our Experts
“A record 23 million Asian Americans trace their roots to more than 20 countries … and the U.S. Asian population is projected to reach 46 million by 2060.”
Neil G. Ruiz,
Head of New Research Initiatives
Methods 101 Videos
Video: Can polls tell us who will win on Election Day?
We often hear a candidate is leading, trailing, or the race is tied. This is based on “horse race” polling, which estimates how much support candidates have, based on how people answer surveys. But accurately measuring the horse race is hard due to different circumstances.
Signature Reports
Where Do Americans Get Health Information, and What Do They Trust?
Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off
America’s News Influencers
Race and LGBTQ Issues in K-12 Schools
Representative Democracy Remains a Popular Ideal, but People Around the World Are Critical of How It’s Working
Americans’ Dismal Views of the Nation’s Politics
Editor’s Pick
