Benjamin Wormald

Supreme Court Justice Speaks on Religion, Politics and the Death Penalty at Pew Forum Conference “You want to have a fair death penalty?” U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia asked an audience of nearly 500 academics and others at a January 25 conference on religion and the death penalty. “You kill; you die. That’s fair.” […]

Scholars, Politicians and Religious Leaders Discuss Religion and the Death Penalty In the past year, debate over the use of the death penalty in the U.S. has become louder and more focused as the first federal executions since 1963 took place. While public support for the death penalty remains high, it has fallen from a […]

The report released today by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives analyzes current government policy toward faith-based and other community social service providers—a topic of great public interest and debate. Pew Forum polling has shown that while the public expresses strong support for the idea of faith-based groups receiving government funding to […]

The scheduled executions of U.S. federal prisoners for the first time in nearly four decades, as well as the recent Supreme Court decision overturning the death sentence of a mentally retarded prisoner, have once again brought debate over capital punishment into the American public square. In light of recent events, the Pew Forum on Religion […]

In response to the recent introduction of legislation in Congress to prohibit human cloning, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life hosted a “rapid response” discussion of religious perspectives on the issue. Forum Co-Chair Jean Bethke Elshtain explained that the purpose was to allow scientific experts “to address the ethical underpinnings their own religious […]

A new survey presented jointly by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press shows that while religion plays a more prominent role in American public life, sharp divisions of opinion exist around issues such as the separation of church and state. Most notably, […]

Senator Lieberman Gives First Major Speech on Religion and Politics Since Campaign to Launch The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life Events of the past year, including the presidential campaign’s focus on religion and politics, attention given to Attorney General Ashcroft’s religious convictions, and President Bush’s establishment of the White House Office of Faith-Based […]