Publications

With its newest additions, the College of Cardinals will have 128 voting members, 42% of whom are European, down from 52% in 2013.

For more than a decade, Pew Research Center has been tracking global patterns in restrictions on religion – both those imposed by governments and hostilities committed by individuals and social groups.

Government restrictions in 2018 were at their highest level since 2007, when Pew Research Center began tracking these trends.

Among the 25 most populous countries, India, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and Russia had the highest levels of overall restrictions on religion in 2018, while Japan, South Africa, Italy, Brazil and the United States had the fewest restrictions.

In 2018, the global median level of government restrictions on religion – that is, laws, policies and actions by officials that impinge on religious beliefs and practices – continued to climb, reaching an all-time high since Pew Research Center began tracking these trends in 2007.

Pope Francis made news recently by voicing his support for same-sex civil unions. The statement struck observers as a shift for the Vatican.

Like U.S. adults overall, the majority of U.S. Catholics say abortion should be legal – at least in some cases.

President Trump continues to be White Christians’ preferred candidate, but support among voters in three traditions has slipped since August.

A large majority of U.S. adults (86%) say there is some kind of lesson or set of lessons for humankind to learn from the pandemic, and about a third of Americans (35%) say the lessons were sent by God.

In most of the 18 countries analyzed, religiously unaffiliated adults were more likely to say homosexuality should be accepted by society.