If new medical treatments could slow the aging process and allow people to live to age 120 and beyond, would you want to? Most Americans say “no” – they would not want a radically extended life span. But roughly two-thirds think that most other people would.
New Survey Examines Public’s Views on Aging, Medical Advances and Radical Life Extension Washington, D.C. — If new medical treatments could slow the aging process and allow people to live decades longer, to at least 120 years old, would you want to have the treatments? A new survey by the Pew Research Center finds that […]
While the Pew Research Center routinely tracks long-established trends in public attitudes, it also tries to identify emerging social, political and religious issues. We began polling on same-sex marriage, for example, in 1996, seven years before Massachusetts became the first state to allow it. The goal of these early studies is to set down some […]
No religious group in the United States has released an official statement on radical life extension. However, here are brief summaries of how some clergy, bioethicists and other scholars from 18 major American religious groups say their traditions might approach this evolving issue.
This is the fourth in a series of reports by the Pew Research Center analyzing the extent to which governments and societies around the world impinge on religious beliefs and practices. As part of the original study, published in 2009, Pew Research developed two indexes – a Government Restrictions Index and a Social Hostilities Index […]
Most Americans have heard little or nothing about biomedical advances that, according to some researchers, hold the potential to allow the average person to live decades longer. Just 7% of U.S. adults report having heard or read a lot about this possibility, which medical researchers and bioethicists call radical life extension. Nearly four-in-ten Americans (38%) […]
Roman Catholics in Decline, Protestants on the Rise Washington, D.C. — Washington, D.C. July 18, 2013 — As young Catholics begin to gather in Brazil, awaiting the arrival of Pope Francis in celebration of World Youth Day, a new Pew Research Center analysis finds that the share of Brazil’s overall population that identifies as Catholic […]