Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Publications

  • report

    Survey Finds Alaskans Less Religious Than Other Americans

    GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is a self-described “Bible-believing Christian,” but statistics from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life’s U.S. Religious Landscape Survey show that compared with the nation as a whole, Alaska is home to a higher-than-average number of people who are unaffiliated with any particular religion. More than one-in-four Alaskans […]

  • report

    After Busy Week, Views of Both Candidates Improve

    Summary of Findings Interest in the presidential election surged last week, with the public following campaign news more closely than at any point since the Super Tuesday primaries in February. As attention to the campaign has increased, the images of both Barack Obama and John McCain have improved in recent days. In a survey conducted […]

  • report

    Denver and Palin Fuel Biggest Campaign Week Yet

    For much of last week, the Democrats’ effort to make peace and reintroduce Obama to voters were the focal points of campaign coverage. How much success did John McCain have in suddenly stealing the media narrative?

  • fact sheet

    On Ceremonial Occasions, May the Government Invoke a Deity?

    School children utter the phrase “one nation under God” as part of the Pledge of Allegiance. The national motto, “In God We Trust,” appears on U.S. currency. Congress and many state legislatures start their sessions with prayers, and the U.S. Supreme Court opens oral arguments with the invocation “God save the United States and this […]

  • report

    Obama’s Background Better Known Than His Issue Positions

    Summary of Findings As Barack Obama prepares to accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for president and frame his campaign message for the fall, many Americans still do not have a clear understanding of where he stands on the issues. Public awareness of Obama’s policy positions has increased modestly over the past month. Still, fewer than […]