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    Most Say Homosexuality Should Be Accepted By Society

    While the public is divided over same-sex marriage, a majority of Americans (58%) say that homosexuality should be accepted, rather than discouraged, by society. But there are wide political and religious differences in opinions on this measure.

  • report

    Weiner’s Bad Week is the No. 1 Story

    The media were riveted last week by a made-for-headlines scandal involving one of the more combative members of Congress. The U.S. economy, the chaos in the Mideast and the emerging presidential race also generated significant attention, but they could not rival a story about the intersection of sex and politics.

  • short reads

    Evangelical Support for Israel

    Nearly two-thirds of white evangelical Protestants (64%) say helping to protect Israel should be a very important policy goal for the U.S. in the Middle East, compared with 34% of white mainline Protestants and 36% of white Catholics.

  • report

    How the Media Have Covered bin Laden’s Death

    Contrary to what happens with most major national news events, the discussion of the death of Osama bin Laden in the mainstream and new media has not shifted quickly to political winners and losers. An analysis of hundreds of thousands of stories and millions of social media postings finds the discussion has remained focused on the facts of what happened. A new PEJ study has the details.

  • report

    Section 1: Views of Obama

    Currently, 47% approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president while 45% disapprove. Opinions about Obama’s job performance continue to be deeply divided along partisan lines: 80% of Democrats approve of the way he is handling his job while 16% disapprove. Republicans’ views are the reverse – 16% approve and 81% disapprove. […]

  • report

    Opposition to Nuclear Power Rises Amid Japanese Crisis

    Overview Not surprisingly, public support for the increased use of nuclear power has declined amid the ongoing nuclear emergency in Japan. Currently, 39% say they favor promoting the increased use of nuclear power while 52% are opposed. Last October, 47% favored promoting the increased use of nuclear power and the same percentage (47%) was opposed. […]

  • report

    Public Follows Both Japan, Shutdown Fight Closely

      Summary of Findings The public divided its attention last week between two major stories: the aftermath of the deadly earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the budget battle in Washington that nearly led to a government shutdown. About a third say they followed news about the aftermath of the disasters in Japan (34%) or […]

  • report

    Well Known: Clinton and Gadhafi; Little Known: Who Controls Congress

    Overview Take News IQ Quiz Before you read the report, we invite you to test your own News IQ by taking the latest interactive knowledge quiz now available on the Pew Research Center website. The short quiz includes many of the questions that were included in a national poll. Participants will instantly learn how they […]

  • report

    Civil War at 150: Still Relevant, Still Divisive

    Overview As the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War approaches, most Americans say the war between the North and South is still relevant to American politics and public life today. More than half of Americans (56%) say the Civil War is still relevant, according to the latest national survey by the Pew […]

  • report

    Bin Laden Coverage Still Leads but the Narrative Changes

    The fallout from the killing of Osama bin Laden continued to generate the most attention of any story in the mainstream media last week, though coverage fell off substantially. On cable news, where politics often dictates news agenda, the level of attention varied widely: CNN devoted the most attention to the story and Fox gave it the least.