Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The U.S. government receives largely positive reviews for how it treats its own people. When respondents are asked whether the U.S., China, Saudi Arabia and Iran respect the personal freedoms of their people, the U.S. government achieves the highest ratings, with a median of 70% across the countries surveyed saying the American government respects the […]
A new Pew Research analysis finds that Muslims around the world who use the internet are much more likely than other Muslims to have a favorable opinion of Western movies, music and television and are somewhat more likely to see similarities between Islam and Christianity.
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 […]
The prospect of dying has always fascinated, haunted and, ultimately, defined human beings. From the beginnings of civilization, people have contemplated their own mortality – and considered the possibility of immortality.
During the Arab Spring, many world leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, expressed hope that “this season of change” would lead to greater freedoms for the people of the Middle East and North Africa, including fewer restrictions on religion.1 But a new study by the Pew Research Center finds that hopes for greater religious freedom […]
Washington, D.C. — A new study by the Pew Research Center finds that the already high level of restrictions on religion in the Middle East and North Africa – whether resulting from government policies or from social hostilities – continued to increase in 2011, when most of the political uprisings known as the Arab Spring […]
The share of the world’s countries with high or very high restrictions on religion has increased significantly in recent years, as documented in this study and previous Pew Research Center reports.1 Governments and societies around the world have attempted to address the rising tide of restrictions through a variety of initiatives and actions, from encouraging […]
Survey Report Publics around the world are concerned about the effect of global climate change and international financial instability, with majorities in many of the nations surveyed saying these are major threats to their countries. But Islamic extremism is also a serious concern, particularly in the United States, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. In contrast, relatively […]
Pew Research’s fourth major report on global restrictions on religion finds that the share of countries with high or very high restrictions on religion rose from 37% in 2010 to 40% in 2011. The Middle East and North Africa continued to have the highest levels of restrictions in the year when much of the Arab Spring uprisings occurred, with social hostilities involving religion increasing markedly and government restrictions remaining high.