Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Media Contact: Katherine Ritchey, Communications Manager 202-419-4372, kritchey@pewresearch.org Washington, March 5, 2015 — Nearly two years after becoming the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis continues to grow more popular among Americans, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Fully nine-in-ten U.S. Catholics now say they have a favorable view of Francis, including […]
Nearly 40% of the world’s Catholics live in Latin America, but many people in the region have converted from Catholicism to Protestantism, while some have left organized religion altogether.
Christians remain by far the largest religious group in the United States, but the Christian share of the population has declined markedly. In the past seven years, the percentage of adults who describe themselves as Christians has dropped from 78.4% to 70.6%. Once an overwhelmingly Protestant nation, the U.S. no longer has a Protestant majority. […]
39% of Americans identify as independents, more than they do as Democrats ( 32%) or as Republicans (23%). This is the highest percentage of independents in more than 75 years of public opinion polling.
Public opinion about climate and energy issues is strongly divided along political party and ideological lines. This chapter reviews those patterns underlying beliefs about climate change, perceived consensus among scientists about climate change, and views about one policy prescription aimed at reducing climate change. Liberal Democrats are especially inclined to hold the view that the […]
The general public’s political views are strongly linked to their attitudes on climate and energy issues. But politics is a less important factor on biomedical, food safety, space issues.
Support for same-sex marriage has increased substantially across virtually all demographic and partisan groups over the past decade. At the same time, there continue to be sharp differences in opinions about this issue – by generation, partisanship and ideology, race and religion. Millennials – adults born since 1980 who are currently ages 18 to 34 […]