Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Publications

Refine Your Results

  • report

    Modest Coverage, Broad Interest in Pet Food Recall

    Summary of Findings A story which received relatively little media coverage last week attracted a great deal of public interest. The recall of more than 100 brands of pet food due to possible contamination was the second most closely followed news story last week. Only the war in Iraq attracted more public interest. Nearly three-in-ten […]

  • report

    Are Americans Ready to Elect a Female President?

    When evaluating Sen. Hillary Clinton’s 2008 prospects, one question remains inescapable: Are voters ready to elect a female president? On one level, the question would appear to be settled. In February, Gallup found 88% saying they would vote for a well-qualified woman for president. Contrast this with public opinion in 1969, the year Clinton graduated […]

  • report

    Closeness to Troops Boosts Support for War — but Not By Much

    More than a quarter of adults in America (27%) say they have a very close family member or friend who has served in the current military effort in Iraq or Afghanistan. As one might expect, those with close contacts tend to be more supportive of the Iraq war and President Bush’s policies with regard to […]

  • fact sheet

    School Graduations, Religion and the Courts

    Spring is the season for school graduations, and graduation ceremonies play a featured role in the national debate over the place of religion in public education. Is a clergyman’s benediction at a public school event a violation of the separation of church and state? Can students lead a prayer at their school commencement? In a […]

  • fact sheet

    Religion in the Public Schools

    In a new series of occasional reports, “Religion and the Courts: The Pillars of Church-State Law,” the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life explores the complex, fluid relationship between government and religion. Among the issues to be examined are religion in public schools, displays of religious symbols on public property, conflicts concerning the free […]

  • report

    Music, interrupted

    International fans of Pandora’s streaming online music service will have to deal with a rude awakening this week when the company is forced to disable accounts based outside of the U.S. due to licensing issues.

  • transcript

    International Religious Freedom: Religion and International Diplomacy

    Pew Research Center Ten years ago, the U.S. Congress launched a debate on U.S. international religious freedom policy that ultimately resulted in the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Foreign policy actors continue to debate how religious freedom – and religion itself – should be factored into U.S. foreign policy. Has the State Department interpreted […]

  • short reads

    Think the Iraq Troop Surge Is Working

    That’s the proportion of the public that thinks that so far the U.S. troop surge is making things better in Iraq; a slightly larger number, 34%, think it will do so in the long run. By contrast, a 46%-plurality thinks it is not having any effect and 20% see it making things worse.

  • short reads

    Say Government Fails to Give Enough Support to Returning Troops

    That’s the share of the U.S. public who say the U.S. government does not give enough support to the soldiers who have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; but a narrow majority (51%) believes the American people give sufficient support.

  • short reads

    Daily Prayer Important

    That’s the portion of the adult U.S. population who completely agree that prayer is an important part of their daily life — down from a high of 55% in 1999.