While the Pew Research Center routinely tracks long-established trends in public attitudes, it also tries to identify emerging social, political and religious issues. We began polling on same-sex marriage, for example, in 1996, seven years before Massachusetts became the first state to allow it. The goal of these early studies is to set down some […]
Washington, D.C. — Regardless of their views about the legality of abortion, most Americans think that having an abortion is a moral issue, according to a new survey analysis by the Pew Research Center. By contrast, the public is much less likely to see other issues involving human embryos – such as stem cell research […]
Overview Following the Senate’s rejection of gun legislation last month, the public continues to overwhelmingly favor making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks. Nearly three-quarters of Americans (73%) say that if the Senate bill is reintroduced, Congress should pass it. However, even gun control advocates are pessimistic that new […]
The digital landscape is significantly different in 2012 from what it was even as recently as 2008 — and the dramatic growth in the use of social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter over that time period is a big part of the story. When we conducted our first survey of online civic engagement […]
Cultural organizations like theater companies, orchestras, and art museums are using the internet, social media, and mobile apps to draw in and engage audiences, provide deeper context around art, and disseminate their work beyond the stage and th…