by Dan Cox and Gregory Smith, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life As the races for the 2008 presidential nominations heat up, two recent surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press make it possible to examine how the candidates in both political parties are faring among a variety […]
Thanks to Mitt Romney’s big speech on his Mormon faith, the presidential race was the biggest story of the week in the talk universe last week. And while the new intelligence report on Iran sparked a lively debate, the CIA’s destruction of two terror interrogation tapes didn’t generate much interest.
Summary of Findings The Muslim and Mormon religions have gained increasing national visibility in recent years. Yet most Americans say they know little or nothing about either religion’s practices, and large majorities say that their own religion is very different from Islam and the Mormon religion. A new national survey reveals some notable similarities, as […]
September 25, 2007 Section 1: Opinions about Muslims and Islam Section 2: Views of Mormons and Mormonism Section 3: Opinions about Pope Benedict XVI About the Survey The Muslim and Mormon religions have gained increasing national visibility in recent years. Yet most Americans say they know little or nothing about either religion’s practices, and large […]
Roughly three-quarters (73%) of Americans who are familiar with Pope Benedict XVI have a favorable opinion of him. Catholics, not surprisingly, view the pope most favorably (86%). But large majorities of other religious groups, including more than seven-in-ten white evangelical Protestants (72%), mainline Protestants (75%) and black Protestants (70%), also are favorably inclined towards Pope […]
Overall, a slim majority of the public (53%) expresses a favorable view of Mormons, while 27% view Mormons unfavorably. Among religious groups, solid majorities of white mainline Protestants (62%) and white non-Hispanic Catholics (59%) express favorable opinions of Mormons. But among white evangelical Protestants, just 46% have a positive impression of Mormons, while 39% have […]
Reaffirming the Smith Decision Despite the political outcry over the Smith opinion, the court reaffirmed the decision’s basic principle three years later. The case, Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993), involved a series of ordinances passed by the Florida city in response to the ritual practice of animal sacrifice by […]