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 […]
Overview As the country enters into the 2012 presidential election cycle, the electorate’s partisan affiliations have shifted significantly since Barack Obama won office nearly three years ago. In particular, the Democrats hold a much narrower edge than they did in 2008, particularly when the partisan leanings of independents are taken into account. Notably, the GOP […]
Note on survey dates The primary adult data in this report come from a Pew Internet Project survey conducted from April 29 to May 30, 2010. The most current teen data reported here is from a separate Pew Internet survey of teens and their parents conducted from June 26 to September 24, 2009. Data points […]
When asked if they had a chance to read a daily newspaper yesterday, just 31% of Americans say they read a newspaper, the lowest percentage in two decades of Pew Research Center polling. When online news consumers are later probed separately if they happened to read anything on a newspaper website, the total rises to […]
Newspaper coverage of the Catholic clergy sexual abuse scandal grew more intense this spring than at any time since 2002, and European newspapers devoted even more ink to the story than American papers did, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center. The heavy coverage in Europe was a reversal of the pattern […]
The debate over the passage of health care reform reached unprecedented levels on blogs and Twitter last week, and the debate focused on both the value of the bill and the confrontations that surrounded its passing.