Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Publications

  • report

    Public Praises Science; Scientists Fault Public, Media

    Overview Americans like science. Overwhelming majorities say that science has had a positive effect on society and that science has made life easier for most people. Most also say that government investments in science, as well as engineering and technology, pay off in the long run. And scientists are very highly rated compared with members […]

  • report

    In the Blogosphere, the Walkman and the Pitchman Supplant Michael Jackson

    In a week that exposed dramatically different news agendas between social and mainstream media, online commentators shifted away from the King of Pop to focus on a 30-year-old technological breakthrough and the death of an offbeat TV celebrity. The most viewed YouTube video captured an impromptu cell phone snafu.

  • report

    A Contentious Debate: Same-Sex Marriage in the U.S.

    Public Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage Slideshow: Changing Attitudes on Gay Marriage Overview of Same-Sex Marriage in the U.S. Gay Marriage and the Law Religious Groups’ Official Positions on Gay Marriage Gay Marriage Around the World Graphic: State Policies on Same-Sex Marriage Q&A: Gay Marriage and the Free Exercise of Religion   In recent years, the […]

  • fact sheet

    The Constitutional Dimensions of the Same-Sex Marriage Debate

    In this research package Public Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage Slideshow: Changing Attitudes on Gay Marriage Overview of Same-Sex Marriage in the U.S. Gay Marriage and the Law Religious Groups’ Official Positions on Gay Marriage Gay Marriage Around the World Graphic: State Policies on Same-Sex Marriage Q&A: Gay Marriage and the Free Exercise of Religion On […]

  • report

    Public Opinion on Gay Marriage: Opponents Consistently Outnumber Supporters

    Navigate this Report: Public Opinion on Gay Marriage Differences by Political Affiliation Differences by Age Differences by Religious Characteristics Public Opinion on Same-Sex Civil Unions Public Opinion on Adoption by Same-Sex Couples Public Opinion on Gay Marriage RELATED CONTENT For more recent public opinion data on same-sex marriage, strategies to legalize it, civil unions and […]

  • feature

    State Policies on Same-Sex Marriage

    On Nov. 18, 2003, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage following a ruling by the state’s highest court. In the years since the Massachusetts decision, five additional states have legalized gay marriage, and 29 states have amended their constitutions to ban gay marriage.

  • report

    Public Praises Science; Scientists Fault Public, Media

    A new survey of scientists and the public finds large majorities holding positive views of science. But scientists are concerned about Americans’ ignorance of scientific findings and large differences exist between the two groups’ views on evolution and global warming. Still, overwhelming percentages in both groups think that government investments in science and technology pay off in the long run.