Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Adults in Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Philippines are the most likely to say it is important to have a leader who stands up for people with their religious beliefs.
In many places surveyed, 20% or more of all adults have left their childhood religious group. Christianity and Buddhism have had especially large losses.
57% of Americans express some sympathy with both Israelis and Palestinians, including 26% who say their sympathies lie equally with both groups.
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A historic event within global Christianity is set to take place Friday as Pope Francis meets Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in Cuba – the first-ever meeting between the leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches since the Orthodox tradition broke away from Catholicism nearly 1,000 years ago.
The tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran are often characterized as sectarian, and public attitudes toward the two countries in five Middle Eastern nations surveyed bear this out.
Public opinion data going back to the 1930s shows that generally speaking, Americans oppose large numbers of refugees entering the country.
Most people in the countries we surveyed – including 11 countries with significant Muslim populations – had negative views of the Islamic State extremist group as of spring.
Hundreds of thousands of mostly young refugees are fleeing into Europe, where most countries have rapidly aging (and sometimes shrinking) populations.
Survey Report The public has mixed reactions to the U.S. response to the influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants arriving in Europe in recent weeks. By a narrow 51%-45% margin, more approve than disapprove of the U.S. decision to increase the number of refugees it accepts to help deal with this situation. When asked […]
Pope Francis has urged European Catholics to take in some of the thousands of migrants streaming in from Syria and other countries amid the world’s largest refugee crisis on record, and in his address to Congress today he urged leaders to welcome and respect immigrants coming to the U.S. But just how closely public opinion aligns with the pope’s […]
Although Europe is struggling to manage the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere, the countries facing the biggest refugee impacts are the ones closest to the fighting.
Survey Report As Congress prepares to vote on the Iran nuclear agreement, public support for the deal has declined. Currently, just 21% approve of the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program reached between the United States, Iran and other nations. Nearly half (49%) disapprove of the agreement, while three-in-ten (30%) offer no opinion. In mid-July, a […]
