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 […]
Public support for allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally continues its rapid rise: A 57% majority of Americans now favor allowing same-sex marriage, up from 42% just five years ago.
This chapter looks at a handful of issues in the biomedical arena. No single set of factors is central to explaining views across all of these topics. One of the issues we examined related to changing a baby’s genetic characteristics for specific purposes. Views of genetic modification are influenced by religious observance, as measured by […]
The public sees a number of contributing factors for the outbreak of violence and unrest in Baltimore last week, and most say it was the right decision to charge some Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray.
The U.S. population is undergoing a variety of demographic changes. For example, racial and ethnic diversity has been increasing as non-Hispanic whites have declined as a share of the population. And the share of adults who are married has been declining for decades. These broader changes are reflected within many of the major religious groups […]