Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Religion

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    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.

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    About One-in-Six Americans Are Baptist

    Two of the largest Baptist denominations in the U.S. — the Southern Baptist Convention and the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. — will hold national meetings in late June. The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, finds that Baptists represent the largest Protestant denominational […]

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    Most Latino Evangelicals Pray Every Day

    On June 17-19, hundreds of Hispanic evangelical church leaders will participate in the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, finds that Hispanic evangelicals, like other evangelicals, are more likely to pray every day than the population overall. […]

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    Government Partnerships With Faith-Based Organizations: Looking Back, Moving Forward

    The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, established by President Barack Obama, plans to expand partnerships between the government and faith-based and community organizations for the delivery of social services. What lessons can be learned from the preceding eight years of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives under President George […]

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    Brides, Grooms Often Have Different Faiths

    Early summer is a traditional season for wedding ceremonies in the U.S. Data from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life in 2007, shows that many marriages are between people of different religious faiths. According to the survey, Buddhists and the religiously unaffiliated are the […]

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    A Clash of Rights? Gay Marriage and the Free Exercise of Religion

    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   […]

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    Shifting Boundaries: The Establishment Clause and Government Funding of Religious Schools and Other Faith-Based Organizations

    In an ongoing series of occasional reports, “Religion and the Courts: The Pillars of Church-State Law,” the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life explores the complex, fluid relationship between government and religion. Among the issues to be examined are religion in public schools, displays of religious symbols on public property, conflicts concerning the free […]

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    Catholic Opinion on Notre Dame Controversy Differs by Church Attendance

    A recent survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life found that about half of American Catholics have heard at least a little about the controversy over the University of Notre Dame’s decision to invite President Barack Obama to speak at the university’s May 17 commencement and receive an honorary degree. […]

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    The Torture Debate: A Closer Look

    “The Religious Dimensions of the Torture Debate,” a web graphic published April 29 by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, has generated a great deal of attention and interest. It shows that currently, more than six-in-ten white evangelical Protestants (62%) say that the use of torture against suspected terrorists in order […]