Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Overview More Americans now say that the United States is less respected in the world than it has been in the past, and a growing proportion views this as a major problem for the country. More than seven-in-ten Americans (71%) say that the United States is less respected by other countries these days, up from […]
With less than two months before the presidential election in November, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life invited two senior researchers and a group of leading journalists to discuss recent findings on the role religion is playing in the presidential race. Scott Keeter, director of survey research at the Pew Research Center, said […]
Potential Candidate Weaknesses Barack Obama’s relative inexperience in national politics is seen by more voters as having a negative effect on his candidacy than his race. Roughly four-in-ten voters (42%) say Obama will be hurt by the fact that he is new to national politics; just 22% believe he will be hurt by the fact […]
Summary of Findings As the Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of Washington, D.C.’s ban on handguns, a majority of Americans (59%) say they would oppose a law that banned the sale of handguns. Opposition to a prohibition of handgun sales is up slightly, from 55% a year ago shortly after the Virginia Tech shootings, but […]
While race and gender have been the focus of a good deal of discussion through the course of the 2008 Democratic primary campaign, most voters believe that neither was a significant factor in the success or failure of the Obama and Clinton candidacies. And among those who believe race and gender were factors, somewhat more […]
Overview The outlook for the presidential election at mid-year is substantially different than at comparable points in time in recent campaigns. First, turnout is likely to be higher this fall – perhaps much higher than in previous elections – as voter interest continues at record levels. Second, as has been the case since the start […]
Just 18% of Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country today, down from 22% in March and 27% at the end of 2007. This represents a new low in 20 years of Pew Research Center polling. Previously, the lowest measure of satisfaction was in September 1993 when 20% […]