The new Pew Global Attitudes survey shows that President Barack Obama is popular in much of the world, and is consistently more popular than his predecessor, George W. Bush. In Pakistan, however, only 13% say they have confidence that the new American president will do the right thing in world affairs, the lowest rating among […]
More than half a century ago, the United Nations affirmed the principle of religious freedom in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, defining it as “the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” For just as long, journalists and human rights groups have reported on persecution of minority faiths, outbreaks of sectarian violence […]
Is Google making us stupid? Most experts surveyed in a new Pew Internet/Elon University study say the Internet enhances and augments human intelligence.
Main findings One of the long-running hopes of technology supporters is that the internet and cell phones will bring positive change to institutions of all kinds. This tension pair was designed to assess those hopes. While the largely pro-technology group of respondents expressed overall enthusiasm for the change they hope will come to all kinds […]
The public overwhelmingly continues to express dissatisfaction with the way things are going in the United States. Just 25% say they are satisfied with national conditions – a figure that has changed little over the past several months. Americans express even more negative opinions about the way things are going in the world. Just 15% […]
Attitudes toward the United States have become more positive in many nations across the globe over the last year. The shift in public opinion has been especially strong in Western Europe, but can be seen elsewhere as well, including Latin America, Asia, Africa, and to a lesser extent, the Middle East. In some nations, positive […]
Why do fewer Americans believe the earth is warming? A range of possibilities, including a sour economy and, perhaps, a cooler than normal summer in parts of the U.S., may provide an explanation.