In the heat of the campaign season, what is not conveyed in the media about a candidate can be as important as what is. In the period from late May to early August, several themes that have been associated with Obama and Romney failed to gain traction in the news. Many polls, for instance, have […]
Trends in Party Identification among Registered Voters So far in 2012, 35% of registered voters identify with the Democratic Party, 28% identify with the Republican Party, and 33% say they are independent. Trends in Party Identification, Including Leaners, among Registered Voters When the leanings of independents are taken into account, 48% of registered voters are […]
As the American public has learned more about Mitt Romney over the course of the past year, his image has changed substantially. Last fall, the one word that came to mind most frequently when people were asked to describe Romney was Mormon. The same question this spring elicited the words rich and no more frequently […]
From its origin on the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century C.E., Islam has grown into a worldwide religion with more than 1.6 billion adherents – nearly a quarter of the world’s population.1 Today, Muslims live on all inhabited continents and embody a wide range of races, ethnicities and cultures. What beliefs and practices unite […]
American Muslims, like Muslims in other countries, overwhelmingly accept certain core religious beliefs, such as the conviction that there is one God and that Muhammad is His Prophet. However, U.S. Muslims tend to be less observant than Muslims in many countries surveyed when it comes to practices such as daily prayer and mosque attendance. Moreover, […]
But Catholic Voters Back Obama on Social Issues Washington, D.C. – Today, the provision of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act that offers free contraception to women on employer health care plans goes into effect, though many religious institutions have a one-year reprieve. Catholics who are aware of U.S. bishops’ concerns about restrictions on religious […]
Wendy Cadge is an associate professor of sociology at Brandeis University. Her research focuses on religion in the U.S., especially its relationship to immigration, health care and sexuality. She is the author of the books “Heartwood: The First Generation of Theravada Buddhism in America” and “Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine.” Hien Duc […]
Obama Endorsement Has Limited Impact Washington, D.C. – Reports that the Democratic Party may add support for gay marriage to its party platform are in keeping with a significant shift of opinion on this issue among Democrats nationwide. Just four years ago, in 2008, only half (50%) of Democrats favored allowing gays and lesbians to […]
Washington,D.C. – As theirnumbers rise, Asian Americans have been largely responsible for the growth ofnon-Abrahamic faiths in the U.S., particularly Buddhism and Hinduism. Countedtogether, Buddhists and Hindus now account for about the same share of the U.S.public as Jews (roughly 2%). At the same time, most Asian Americans belong tothe country’s two largest religious groups: […]