The evangelical Christian movement historically has been defined by its members’ distinctive doctrinal standards and practices. Yet in recent years many Americans have come to understand evangelicals more by their political, rather than religious, identity. The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life invited Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, […]
Summary of Findings Americans divided their attention among several major stories last week as President Obama reached out to the Muslim world in a major speech, a jetliner crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection. At the same time, they continued to keep a close watch on news about the […]
Summary of Findings Most Americans say they are hearing a mix of good and bad news about the U.S. economy, a stark change from the start of the year when a sizable majority said they were hearing mostly bad economic news. The latest weekly News Interest Index survey, conducted May 8-11 by the Pew Research […]
Summary of Findings The proportion of Americans saying they are hearing a mix of good and bad news about the economy – rather than mostly bad news – continues to steadily increase. Currently, 56% say they are hearing a mix of good and bad economic news, up from 46% in March and just 19% last […]
Overview Most Americans believe that the nation’s health care system is in need of substantial changes. But there is less support for completely rebuilding the health care system than there was in April 1993, during the early stage of the Clinton administration’s unsuccessful effort to revamp health care. Still, the public continues to favor the […]
Overview Most Americans believe that the nation’s health care system is in need of substantial changes. But there is less support for completely rebuilding the health care system than there was in April 1993, during the early stage of the Clinton administration’s unsuccessful effort to revamp health care. Still, the public continues to favor the […]
National Economic Ratings The public continues to offer a bleak assessment of current national economic conditions. Nearly seven-in-ten (68%) rate the economy as poor while an additional 25% say the economy is in only fair shape. Just 6% call economic conditions good and fewer than 1% (3 of 1,308 adults interviewed) say conditions are excellent. […]
Nearly six-in-ten Americans (59%) approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president. About a month ago, 64% approved of his job performance. Obama’s disapproval ratings have grown significantly over this time; in early February, just 17% said they disapproved of the president’s handling of his job; today, 26% do so. The […]