Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Americans are different when compared with the citizens of other wealthy nations. Americans are more religious and more likely to believe individuals control their own destiny. They also are more inclined than most to say military force is a necessary component of international affairs and are more likely to think their own culture is superior […]
People around the world approve of key elements of economic globalization and believe that free trade and free markets are good for their countries. At the same time, however, many say that globalization entails some economic, environmental and cultural downsides. Support for free markets has increased; most publics endorse a capitalist approach to economics, even […]
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speaking trip to New York proved irresistible for the news media last week. But once you got past the hype, the politics, and the First Amendment debate, how much did we learn about Iran?
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 […]
Updated May 27, 2014 The original version of this report included public opinion data on the connection between religion and morality in China that has since been found to have been in error. Specifically, the particular survey item that asked whether one needed to believe in a higher power or God to be a moral […]
Publics around the world express concern about levels of immigration to their country. Majorities in 44 of the 47 countries surveyed agree with the statement “We should restrict and control entry of people into our country more than we do now.” At the same time, solid majorities of Americans and Canadians say it is a […]
The Court Returns to the Belief-Action Distinction As a result of the Supreme Court’s repeated refusal to uphold free exercise claims in virtually all contexts other than Yoder and a handful of unemployment compensation cases, many legal scholars began to wonder whether the distinction between religious belief and action established in the 19th century polygamy […]
The debut of Fred Thompson as a GOP debater helped make last week the second-biggest week of the year in the talk show universe for the 2008 presidential campaign. But so did a talk brouhaha over a more tangential topic involving the debate. Also, conservative Michael Savage lets a conservative pundit have it.