Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
On Feb. 29, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that the adherents of a small religious group can continue, for now at least, to import and use an illegal drug in their worship services. The court, in a unanimous decision written by new Chief Justice John Roberts, held that the federal government had not adequately demonstrated […]
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 […]
Download the Discussion Read the original Transcript The current legal and political battles surrounding the teaching of evolution in American schools are part of an 80-year-old debate stretching back to the summer of 1925 and the famous Scopes “monkey” trial in Dayton, Tennessee. Now, as then, the fight reflects deep divisions within the country over […]
The editor of Religion News Service will begin new position in May Mark O’Keefe is joining the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life as associate director, editorial. In this new position, Mark will serve as the Forum’s daily news editor and oversee its website, pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/religion. He also will help manage the Forum’s broader outreach […]
Although tolerance is an American ideal and freedom of religion is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, American history has often been characterized by inter-religious conflict. Without question, however, much progress has been made in overcoming blatant forms of institutionalized religious discrimination. But historic tensions among American religious groups, not to mention […]
Washington, D.C. The Pew Forum interviewed Katherine Marshall following a roundtable on religion and international development co-sponsored by the Forum and the Council on Foreign Relations. Ms. Marshall is the director of the Development Dialogue on Values and Ethics at the World Bank and a former country director in the World Bank’s Africa and East […]
Although a right to personal privacy is not mentioned in the Constitution, most judges and legal scholars acknowledge that a measure of privacy is essential to the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. The exact extent of that privacy, however, is highly contested. Indeed, some of the most hotly debated high court decisions in U.S. […]
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Washington, D.C. There is growing recognition of the increasingly important role religion plays in U.S. foreign policy, including decisions regarding development aid and humanitarian assistance. What role is religion playing in international development? How are domestic religious groups and faith-based organizations influencing U.S. development efforts overseas, particularly policies […]