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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Can Secular Democracy Survive in Turkey?
by Robert Ruby, Senior Editor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life By nominating an observant Muslim for the Turkish presidency, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan inadvertently highlighted deep-rooted tensions about the role of religion in the nation’s political life. These tensions were already evident in recent Pew Global Attitudes surveys that found growing doubts […]
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Latinos and the War in Iraq
Two out of every three Latinos now believe that U.S. troops should be brought home from Iraq as soon as possible and only one in four thinks the U.S. made the right decision in using military force.
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Turkey: Troubled Terrain for Pope Benedict
The Pontiff Visits a Country Where Negative Views of Christians and the West Are on the Rise
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Lebanon’s Muslims: Relatively Secular and Pro-Christian
But Support for Terrorism and Anti-Semitism are Widespread
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The Revival of Shia Islam
Washington, D.C. Recent violence between Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim guerrilla group, and Israel; sectarian conflict in Iraq and escalating tensions around Iran’s nuclear ambitions have drawn urgent attention to the resurgence and politicization of Shiite Islam and its relationship to Sunni Islam. The Pew Forum and the Council on Foreign Relations invited Vali Nasr, author […]
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The Great Divide: How Westerners and Muslims View Each Other
After a year marked by riots over cartoon portrayals of Muhammad, a major terrorist attack in London, and continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, most Muslims and Westerners see relations between them as generally bad.
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America’s Image Slips, But Allies Share U.S. Concerns Over Iran, Hamas
America’s global image has again slipped and support for the war on terrorism has declined even among close U.S. allies like Japan. The war in Iraq is a continuing drag on opinions of the United States, not only in predominantly Muslim countries but in Europe and Asia as well. And despite growing concern over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the U.S. presence in Iraq is cited at least as often as Iran – and in many countries much more often – as a danger to world peace.
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Islam and the West: A Conversation with Bernard Lewis
Hay-Adams Hotel Washington, D.C. The relationship between Islam and the West will be a defining feature of the 21st century, particularly in the Middle East. How should U.S. policymakers engage with the Muslim world? Will the spread of democracy throughout the Muslim world blunt the militant forces generating terrorism? How will European governments and populations […]
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Religion, Violence and the Middle East: A Conversation with U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr.
The Brookings Institution Washington, D.C. U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., was first elected to the United States Senate in 1972 at the age of 29 and is currently serving his sixth term. Senator Biden serves on the Foreign Relations Committee and the Judiciary Committee and is recognized as a leading expert on national security […]
