Some major U.S. religious groups differ from their members on the death penalty
Many large religious groups have taken positions in opposition to the death penalty even though that stance is sometimes at odds with the opinions of their adherents.
A third of the 198 countries studied had a high or very high level of social hostilities involving religion in 2012. About three-in-ten countries had a high or very high level of government restrictions on religion, roughly the same as in 2011.
Extremist groups Hamas and Hezbollah continue to receive mixed ratings from Muslim publics. However, opinions of al Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden, are consistently negative; only in Nigeria do Muslims offer views that are, on balance, positive toward al Qaeda and bin Laden.
National Press Club Washington, D.C. In late September 2005, Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District et al. went to trial in federal district court in Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs challenged the decision of the Dover School Board requiring that public schools teach that intelligent design is an alternative theory to evolution. The plaintiffs alleged […]
2:00-3:30pm National Press Club Washington, D.C. Download legal backgrounder on Ten Commandments cases (154K .pdf) On March 2, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases that concern the placement of Ten Commandments displays on public property. The commandments controversy came to national prominence in 2003, when the chief justice of the Alabama […]
Introduction and Summary As religion plays a more prominent role in public life, sharp divisions of opinion about the mixing of church and state are apparent. Most notably, while the public expresses strong support for the idea of faith-based groups receiving government funding to provide social services, in practice, it has many reservations. Most Americans […]
Washington, D.C. Data presented by: Deborah Wadsworth, President, Public Agenda Steve Farkas, Director of Research and Senior Vice President, Public Agenda Respondents: Andrew Kohut, Director, Pew Research Center for the People and the Press Rev. Eugene F. Rivers, 3d, Co-Chair, National TenPoint Leadership Foundation Michael J. Sandel, Professor of Government, Harvard University Matthew Spalding, Director, […]
© 2024 Pew Research Center