51% of Americans say Sept. 11 proves there is too little religion in the world A poll released today by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that 8-in-10 Americans believe that religion has a positive influence in the world today. By […]
Introduction and Summary The public draws clear lines in assessing complex issues raised by genetic technologies. Americans are united in opposition to human cloning by more than four-to-one (77%-17%), they reject scientific experimentation in this area. There is far less agreement on the question of stem cell research. Half of those who have been […]
Introduction and Summary As a religious people, Americans are unsure about how to judge a world that seems increasingly in conflict along religious lines. The public overwhelmingly sees religion’s influence in the world and the nation as a good thing. And by 51%-28%, Americans think the lesson of Sept. 11 is that there is too […]
Panel divided over moral status of human embryo The President’s Council on Bioethics should work to establish a framework for public moral debate and should determine how to make progress in a discussion that is essentially gridlocked over the issue of the moral status of the human embryo, a panel of Christian and Jewish theologians […]
The scheduled executions of U.S. federal prisoners for the first time in nearly four decades, as well as the recent Supreme Court decision overturning the death sentence of a mentally retarded prisoner, have once again brought debate over capital punishment into the American public square. In light of recent events, the Pew Forum on Religion […]
Introduction and Summary Rising energy costs are having a major impact on how Americans are living their lives, affecting everything from their driving habits to the news stories they follow. More than two-thirds say they have been adjusting their thermostats to cope with soaring utility bills, and half report cutting back on driving to save […]
Rising public opposition to the death penalty has been one of the few liberal social trends in recent years. But there is some reason to wonder whether the public’s overwhelming enthusiasm for executing Timothy McVeigh will stall or possibly reverse this development. Every nationwide poll taken has found the vast majority of Americans favoring the […]
Introduction and Summary As religion plays a more prominent role in public life, sharp divisions of opinion about the mixing of church and state are apparent. Most notably, while the public expresses strong support for the idea of faith-based groups receiving government funding to provide social services, in practice, it has many reservations. Most Americans […]
If you are expecting to soon find out what the election will turn on now that the debates are over, you’re going to be disappointed. In fact, you may be puzzled about the whys of the outcome even after we know the winner of campaign 2000. This is a very different kind of election. Not […]
© 2024 Pew Research Center