Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Religion

  • report

    Religious Groups’ Presidential Candidate Preferences

    by Dan Cox and Gregory Smith, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life As the races for the 2008 presidential nominations heat up, two recent surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press make it possible to examine how the candidates in both political parties are faring among a variety […]

  • transcript

    Faith and the Public Dialogue: A Conversation with Sen. John Kerry

    Washington, D.C. The Pew Forum invited Mass. Sen. John Kerry to discuss the propriety of public inquiry into politicians’ religious beliefs and how those beliefs influence candidates’ views on the issues of the day. Kerry, a 2004 presidential candidate, also addressed the role of faith in presidential campaigns, his perspective on religion in the 2008 […]

  • report

    Widespread Negativity: Muslims Distrust Westerners More than Vice Versa

    by Richard Wike, Pew Global Attitudes Project, and Brian J. Grim, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life News headlines bombard us almost daily with examples of conflict between the Muslim world and the West, whether the war in Iraq, the search for al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, or efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear […]

  • report

    Turkey and Its (Many) Discontents

    by Brian J. Grim, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, and Richard Wike, Pew Global Attitudes Project Earlier this month, Turkey threatened to curtail U.S. military access to Turkish bases and recalled its ambassador from Washington for consultations. These actions came in response to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee’s approval of a resolution […]

  • fact sheet

    The Free Exercise Clause and the Parameters of Religious Liberty

    The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees that the federal government will respect the “free exercise” of religion. But the precise meaning of “free exercise” and exactly what constitutes an infringement of this right are not clear-cut. At the heart of the debate is one basic question: Do individuals or groups professing sincerely held […]

  • fact sheet

    A Delicate Balance: The Free Exercise Clause and the Supreme Court

    In a new 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 […]

  • report

    A Portrait of Republican Social-Issue Voters

    by Dan Cox and Gregory Smith, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life With no clear heir apparent to President Bush, and a nominating contest that remains very much in flux, many 2008 Republican presidential candidates are vying for the support of an influential segment of the primary electorate – social-issue voters. These voters are […]

  • transcript

    Evangelicals and the Public Square

    Washington, D.C. That evangelicals have become an important political constituency is not news, but two new books probe behind the headlines to reveal both the hidden tensions and unsung successes of a movement that is about far more than just swing votes. Sociologist Michael Lindsay in his book, Faith in the Halls of Power: How […]

  • report

    Oregon’s ’Death with Dignity’ Law: 10 Years Later

    Washington, D.C. Ten years have passed since Oregon became the first state in the nation to authorize doctors to assist terminally ill patients in voluntarily ending their lives. Although some predicted the legalization of physician-assisted suicide (also called physician aid in dying) in other states, similar measures have since been defeated in California, Hawaii and […]