Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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What draws people to certain types of news videos and not others? PEJ created a broad list of the visual appeal that came through in the videos. More than a third (35%) of the videos depicted devastating or intensely graphic images. These included videos that demonstrated the dramatic impact of the Japanese tsunami or […]
The United States continues to be a highly religious nation. Most Americans say they belong to a particular faith and large percentages agree with statements about key religious beliefs and behaviors. About three-quarters of the public (76%) say prayer is an important part of their daily life, while an identical percentage agrees that “we will […]
Following a politically turbulent year in much of the Arab world, democracy continues to be the preferred form of government in the four Arab nations surveyed, as well as in Turkey and Pakistan. Moreover, there is widespread support for specific democratic rights and institutions, such as multiparty elections and freedom of expression. Still, significant minorities […]
The analysis in this report is based on telephone interviews conducted June 28-July 9, 2012, among a national sample of 2,973 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (1,771 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1,202 were interviewed on a cell phone, […]
Background 1. Where do the restrictions on religious organizations’ participation in the political process come from? The Internal Revenue Code prohibits intervention in political campaigns by organizations that are exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3), including religious organizations. To qualify for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must meet […]
The analysis in this report is based on telephone interviews conducted June 28-July 9, 2012, among a national sample of 2,973 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (1,771 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1,202 were interviewed on a cell phone, […]
The declaration of Mohamed Morsi as Egypt’s first freely elected president marks a major milestone for a country that until February 2011 had spent nearly three decades under the authoritarian rule of Hosni Mubarak. At the same time, for significant numbers of Egyptians, Morsi’s relatively narrow victory over former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq has the potential to raise questions about Islam’s role in society.
Who counts as a Muslim, and who does not? Which beliefs and practices are Islamic, and which are not? Many Muslims across the globe hold firm views on such questions. Asked, for example, whether there is only one true way to interpret Islam’s teachings or whether multiple interpretations are possible, half or more of the […]
A new survey report finds that Catholics who are aware of U.S. bishops’ concerns about restrictions on religious liberty generally agree with the bishops’ concerns. Yet there are no significant differences in the presidential vote preferences between Catholic voters who have heard about the bishops’ protests and those who have not.
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. A new report finds that support for same-sex marriage among Democrats has jumped from 50% in 2008 to 65% today.