Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Across the U.S., religious courts operate on a routine, everyday basis. How do some of the country’s major Christian traditions and other religions – including Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism – decide internal matters and apply their religious laws?
Obama’s margin of victory in the 2012 popular vote was smaller than in 2008. But the religious contours of the electorate were similar to recent elections – traditionally Republican groups such as white evangelicals and weekly churchgoers strongly backed Romney, while traditionally Democratic groups such as black Protestants, Hispanic Catholics, Jews and the religiously unaffiliated backed Obama by large margins.
Download the Methodology as a PDF (180 KB, 17pages) This study provides comprehensive demographic estimates of the size and distribution of eight major religious groups in the 232 countries and territories for which the United Nations Population Division provides general population estimates as of 2010.16 It includes estimates for Christians, Muslims, the religiously unaffiliated, Hindus, […]
The Pew Research Center’s 2011 survey of Muslim Americans provides a comprehensive portrait of this religious group, including its religious beliefs and practices as well as social and political attitudes. This nationally representative survey of U.S. Muslims was conducted in English, Arabic, Farsi and Urdu. The survey found that Muslims in the U.S. are racially […]
The following list includes brief descriptions of some religious groups and other terms used in the survey report that may be unfamiliar to readers. Descriptions have been adapted from the website of the American Correctional Chaplains Association, Associated Press Stylebook, ReligionFacts.com, the Religion Newswriters Association’s Religion Stylebook and ReligiousTolerance.org. American Correctional Chaplains Association A professional […]
Spotlight on the United States The United States is often described as “a nation of immigrants,” a phrase coined by John F. Kennedy in an essay written in 1958 when he was the junior senator from Massachusetts.8 As the future president wrote, “This was the secret of America: a nation of people with the fresh […]
Little is known about the religious makeup of the state prison population. Government agencies routinely report on the gender, racial and ethnic composition of inmates in state and federal prisons (see Appendix C) but not on their religious affiliation. One of the central goals of the Pew Forum survey is to offer a glimpse into […]
According to a survey of professional prison chaplains, America’s state penitentiaries are a bustle of religious activity. Chaplains say that efforts by inmates to convert other inmates are common and that at least some religious switching occurs. And chaplains overwhelmingly consider religion-based programming an important aspect of rehabilitating prisoners.
With a Mormon candidate in the race for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, there has been intense media, academic and public interest in Mormons and their religion. The Pew Forum recently held a roundtable discussion with journalists, scholars and policy experts on some of the latest research on Mormons and their place in American society and public life.
Updated May 15, 2012 Navigate this page: Criteria for Selecting Groups Information Sources Categorizing the Advocacy Groups Sources of Annual Advocacy Expenses Data Data on Staff Levels Identifying Group Issues and Policy Concerns Criteria for Selecting Groups This study defines religious advocacy broadly, encompassing a wide range of efforts by organizations operating in Washington, D.C., […]