Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
European campaigns to ban burqas, the Swiss vote to bar new construction of minarets and attempted terrorist acts in the United States have renewed questions and concerns about the compatibility of Islam with Western society. Swiss-born scholar and philosopher of Islam Tariq Ramadan has written and spoken on the subject, generating widespread debate and reaction. […]
Overall views of China have remained largely steady in the past year. Currently, majorities or pluralities in 15 of 21 countries outside of China have a positive view of this rising Asian power. In addition, publics in most nations surveyed see China more as a partner than as an enemy. The survey also finds that […]
Islamic radicalism in Western Europe is generally associated with networks and cells affiliated with global jihadi organizations, such as al-Qaeda, whose ideology calls for the violent pursuit of a global Islamic political order. By most accounts, support for radical extremist groups is relatively low among Muslims in Europe.[1. numoffset=”27″ See, for example, “The Great Divide: […]
Groups of bloggers amassed to decry two separate controversies last week: reported rule changes to the board game Scrabble and the declaration that April would be Confederate History Month in Virginia. On YouTube, politics were unusually popular, with three separate congressional videos leading the list. And Twitterers remained fascinated with the iPad.
Overview As forms for the 2010 U.S. Census arrive in households across the nation this week, a new Pew Research Center survey finds nearly universal awareness of the census, with 94% of Americans saying they have heard of the census and 79% having heard something recently about it. Nearly nine-in-ten Americans (87%) now say they […]
Americans continue to offer negative views of the national economy. A majority (53%) of the public says economic conditions are poor and 39% say conditions are only fair. Only 7% rate the economy as excellent or good. Ratings of the national economy have remained very low for about two years. But far fewer say that […]