Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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In December 2009, the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life published its first report analyzing the extent to which governments and societies around the world impinge on religious beliefs and practices. The report found that about 70% of the world’s population was living in countries where governments imposed high restrictions on religion […]
No Signs of Growth in Alienation or Support for Extremism Washington, D.C. — As the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, a comprehensive public opinion survey by the Pew Research Center finds no indication of increased alienation or anger among Muslim Americans in response to concerns about home-grown Islamic terrorists, controversies about the building […]
Three-Year Study Finds One-Third of Global Population Experiences An Increase Washington,D.C. — More than2.2 billion people, nearly a third (32%) of the world’s total population of 6.9billion, live in countries where either government restrictions on religion orsocial hostilities involving religion rose substantially between mid-2006 andmid-2009, according to a new study on global restrictions on religion […]
The Social Hostilities Index (SHI) measures hostile acts by private individuals, organizations and social groups that restrict religious beliefs and practices. The 10-point index is based on 13 questions used by the Pew Forum to gauge the level of hostilities both between and within religious groups, including mob or sectarian violence, crimes motivated by religious […]
Although its historical roots are mostly in Northern Europe and North America, evangelical Protestantism is a global phenomenon today. In 1910, by one estimate, there were about 80 million evangelicals, and more than 90% of them lived in Europe and North America. By 2010, the number of evangelicals had risen to at least 260 million, […]
Washington,D.C. — In a new surveyby the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, most evangelicalProtestant leaders who live in the Global South (58%) say that evangelicalChristians are gaining influence on life in their countries. By contrast, most leaders who live in the Global North (66%)say that, in the societies in which they […]
For more than 30 years, the Episcopal Church has been fighting in courts to enforce its claim over properties held by breakaway congregations and dioceses. The church has faced litigation in at least 20 states, as dozens of congregations have sought to withdraw from the church over doctrinal differences. The Episcopal Church is by no […]
This report was produced by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. The Pew Forum delivers timely, impartial information on issues at the intersection of religion and public affairs. The Pew Forum is a nonpartisan, nonadvocacy organization and does not take positions on policy debates. Based in Washington, D.C., the Pew Forum […]
For Immediate ReleaseJanuary 25, 2011 Washington, D.C. — In a 10 a.m. EST conference call forjournalists on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011,the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life will discuss thefindings contained in its new report, TheFuture of the Global Muslim Population. This comprehensive demographic study seeks toprovide up-to-date estimates of the number […]
Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa, a 19-country survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, reveals that the vast majority of people in many sub-Saharan African nations are deeply committed to Christianity or Islam, and yet many continue to practice elements of traditional African religions.