Around the World, Many People Are Leaving Their Childhood Religions
In many places surveyed, 20% or more of all adults have left their childhood religious group. Christianity and Buddhism have had especially large losses.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Middle East & North Africa
Comparing Levels of Religious Nationalism Around the World
We asked people in three dozen countries how they see religion’s role in society, government and national identity.
Majority in U.S. Say Israel Has Valid Reasons for Fighting; Fewer Say the Same About Hamas
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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In countries near Syria, widespread fear about the spread of violence, extremists
Middle East worries about spreading violence and a possible triumph by extremists in Syria have been evident in Pew Research surveys the past two years.
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Syria’s Neighbors Want Assad to Step Down, But No Appetite for Aid to Rebels
After three years of civil war, Syria’s neighbors fear that al Qaeda or other extremist groups could take control of that war-torn land, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center. Regional publics widely disapprove of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and they want him to step down. Nevertheless, there is mounting opposition in […]
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More Americans say U.S. failed to achieve its goals in Iraq
As Sunni militants make a major military push against the central government in Iraq, the Obama administration is said to have rebuffed requests from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to use drones to strike at extremist bases. That reported reluctance follows years of U.S. military intervention in Iraq that many Americans say was misguided and failed to achieve its goals.
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Public Has Doubts about Bergdahl Prisoner Exchange
Survey Report The prisoner exchange that freed U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl from the Taliban in Afghanistan gets a more negative than positive reaction from the public. Overall, 43% say it was the wrong thing for the Obama administration to exchange five Taliban prisoners for captive soldier Bergdahl, while fewer (34%) say it was the right […]
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Syria’s neighbors give Assad the thumbs down
Strong majorities of the publics in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian territories, Tunisia and Turkey and half the public in Lebanon voice a very unfavorable view of the embattled Syrian leader.
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Key takeaways from our Egypt survey
Egyptians are about as unhappy with the direction of their country as they were back in spring 2010, less than a year before the revolution that toppled then President Hosni Mubarak. Today, 72% of Egyptians are dissatisfied with the country’s direction, while just 24% are satisfied.
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One Year after Morsi’s Ouster, Divides Persist on El-Sisi, Muslim Brotherhood
Nearly a year of tumult and violence has drained Egyptians of their optimism and battered the images of key players in the post-Mubarak era, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center. As a controversial presidential election approaches, 72% of Egyptians are dissatisfied with their country’s direction, and although most still want democratic […]
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Veterans Administration critics include the soldiers who served in post-9/11 wars
Asked whether the VA put enough focus on post-9/11 war veterans compared to its treatment of previous generations of veterans, half of those who served in Iraq or Afghanistan said the treatment they got was about the right amount while 44% said it was not enough.
