Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
For decades, Americans have been split over the question of whether organized religion should take an active role in politics. About half of the public (48%) is willing to see churches “express their views on day-to-day social and political questions.” But a comparable number (46%) feel that churches should keep out of political matters.[1. Given […]
Finances Top Family Problem Economic concerns are weighing on the minds of Americans these days. When asked in an open-ended format to name the biggest problem currently facing them and their families, most Americans (62%) cite financial concerns, and the proportion doing so is up significantly from the mid-1990s. In 1994, 56% named financial concerns […]
Environmental Balancing Act Most Americans (54%) express at least some confidence in Bush’s ability to balance environmental and economic demands, with 21% expressing “a lot” of confidence in the president in this area. This is comparable to how the public viewed Clinton’s environmental leadership. In 1997, 61% had some confidence in Clinton’s ability to balance […]
In general, the public is not unduly concerned over the nation’s growing religious diversity. However, certain groups are worried about a rise of secularism. More generally, there is fairly broad dissatisfaction with the way the news media and Hollywood treat religion and religious people. Less than half of Americans (45%) say the news media is […]
The public acknowledges that religious organizations play a constructive role in American life. Three-quarters of Americans say churches, synagogues and other houses of worship contribute to solving important social problems. Roughly one-quarter say churches contribute a great deal to solving important problems, and those who hold this view are among the most likely to strongly […]
Introduction: The Carnivore controversy In July 2000, the Wall Street Journal reported that the FBI had developed a computer system that can intercept a criminal suspect’s Internet activities. The capabilities of the new system and its original name, “Carnivore,” helped spark controversy about its potential as an “email wiretap” and potential method to monitor citizens’ […]
Split Over Mandatory Sentences Clearly, the public is conflicted on many aspects of the drug war. While most think of drug use as a disease, there is relatively little support for drug treatment programs; just over a third think drug treatment would be a very effective means of reducing drug addiction. These divisions carry over […]
Blacks Remain Wary On balance, every major demographic group approves of the way Bush is handling his job as president, with one exception — non-whites. Overall, non-whites are fairly evenly divided over Bush’s job performance: 30% approve, 33% disapprove, 37% have no opinion. Blacks are the most critical: 22% approve, 40% disapprove and 38% have […]