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The presidential candidates have recently intensified their efforts to woo Catholic voters, underscoring the election-year significance of this key swing constituency. Pew Forum Senior Fellow John Green discusses Catholic voting trends in past elections, the challenges facing the campaigns as they reach out to Catholics and how the church’s growing Hispanic population may impact future […]
Washington, D.C. Peter Berger, an eminent sociologist of religion and a lifelong Lutheran, asked himself several years ago: “Would my moral convictions change if I woke up tomorrow as an atheist?” For Berger, this perplexing question led to a research project involving fellow Judeo-Christian religious thinkers, which will culminate in the publication of two books, […]
Washington, D.C. http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?autostart=false&brandname=Pew%20Forum&brandlink=http:%2F%2Fpewforum%2Eorg&showplayerpath=http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf&file=http://isthegodgapclosing.blip.tv/rss/flash?sort=date&nsfw=dc&user=GGForum&showguidebutton=false&showsharebutton=true&showfsbutton=true&showplaylist=true&smokeduration=0 One significant pattern in the 2004 presidential election was the tendency of religiously observant Americans to vote Republican and the less observant to vote Democratic. But recent events suggest that this pattern, dubbed the “God gap,” may be changing, as reflected in the results of the 2006 midterm elections and the increased […]
During every election cycle, many religious congregations find themselves wondering what role, if any, they can play in the political process. Can a minister, rabbi, imam or other member of the clergy endorse a candidate from the pulpit or speak on political issues of interest to voters? Is a church or other house of worship […]
Summary of Findings John McCain’s campaign for president has been flying under the news media’s radar since he sewed up the Republican nomination in early March. In recent weeks, he has received less news coverage – and has been consistently less visible to the public – than either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. Nonetheless, far […]
Based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans ages 18 and older, this extensive new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life details the religious affiliation of the American public. Pew Forum Director Luis Lugo gives an overview of the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey and talks about some of its key findings. […]
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),1 including religious organizations. The restrictions are one of the conditions of maintaining tax-exempt status. Although other restrictions – including […]
The two Democratic contenders went at it last week, battling over Barack Obama’s “bitter” remarks at a California fundraiser and over the ABC debate that some said had too much “gotcha.” Trailing in the race for attention, John McCain saw the media examine everything from his economic policy to his temper last week.