Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
Summary of Findings Gen. David Petraeus has played a pivotal role in crafting the U.S. military strategy in Iraq, but he is an unfamiliar figure to most Americans. On the eve of Petraeus’ congressional testimony on the situation in Iraq, a solid majority (55%) says they do not know enough about the top U.S. commander […]
Key West, Florida A voter at a New Hampshire polling station. Some of the nation’s leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in May 2008 for the Pew Forum’s biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. William A. Galston, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution and an assistant for domestic policy […]
Public views of the American economy have grown increasingly negative over the past few months, and a majority now describes the country’s economic situation as poor. Since January, the percentage of Americans rating the economy as poor has doubled, from 28% to 56%. Meanwhile, only 11% say the economy is excellent or good, down from […]
Acknowledgments On behalf of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, the authors would like to acknowledge the contributions to this study by the following people: Alan Heaps and Sandra Riley of The College Board, Richard Sterling and Judy Buchanan of the National Writing Project, as well as the members of the Advisory Board to […]
Navigate this report: John Paul II Better Known, Better Liked Interfaith Relationships Partisans Differ in Views of the Pope About the Survey Two weeks before his first visit to the United States as spiritual leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI continues to be viewed favorably by a majority (52%) of Americans, which is […]
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 […]
Public perceptions of the situation in Iraq have become significantly more positive over the past several months, even as opinions about the initial decision to use military force remain mostly negative and unchanged. The number of Americans who say the military effort is going very or fairly well is much higher now than a year […]
Summary of Findings Two weeks before his first visit to the United States as spiritual leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI continues to be viewed favorably by a majority (52%) of Americans, which is virtually unchanged from August 2007 (50%). However, the pope remains unfamiliar to a relatively large number of Americans: Three-in-ten […]
Summary of Findings A year after the problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military hospitals made major news, the public remains highly critical of the government’s performance in supporting and caring for soldiers who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. Fully 72% say the government does not give enough support to soldiers […]