Washington, DC In a noon conference call for journalists, Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, together with fellows John Green and Greg Smith, released the first of three reports on the Forum’s path-breaking U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, launched the interactive website accompanying the project and answered questions from reporters. […]
Washington, D.C. Peter Berger, an eminent sociologist of religion and a lifelong Lutheran, asked himself several years ago: “Would my moral convictions change if I woke up tomorrow as an atheist?” For Berger, this perplexing question led to a research project involving fellow Judeo-Christian religious thinkers, which will culminate in the publication of two books, […]
From the beginning of the Colonial period, religion has been a major factor in shaping the identity and values of the American people. Despite predictions that the United States would follow Europe’s path toward widespread secularization, the U.S. population remains highly religious in its beliefs and practices, and religion continues to play a prominent role […]
The Landscape Survey details the great diversity of religious affiliation in the U.S. at the beginning of the 21st century. The adult population can be usefully grouped into more than a dozen major religious traditions that, in turn, can be divided into hundreds of distinct religious groups. Overall, nearly eight-in-ten (78.4%) adults report belonging to […]
For the most part, the Democratic electorate is politically and socially liberal, but there are divisions within the party, especially along racial, class, and generational lines. Looking at divisions just among white Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, the older and less educated are significantly more conservative on key political values. A quarter of white Democrats believe […]
From Mitt Romney’s December speech on religion in American politics to Barack Obama’s efforts this month to label himself a “committed Christian,” the personal faith of candidates has played a significant role in the 2008 campaign. Pew Forum Senior Fellow John Green answered questions about the history of faith in presidential politics, campaign efforts to […]
Prior to the Bhutto Assassination, Public Opinion Was Increasingly Opposed to Terrorism
Barack Obama generated more campaign coverage than Hillary Clinton in a week in which Democrats completely dominated the media narrative. But Clinton’s complaints about a journalistic tilt toward her opponent seemed to strike a responsive chord.