Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The Government Restrictions Index (GRI) measures limits imposed by governments on religious beliefs and practices. The 10-point index is based on 20 questions used by the Pew Forum to gauge the extent to which governments at any level – national, provincial or local – try to control religious groups or individuals, prohibit conversions from one […]
In their first major presidential debate June 13, the Republican candidates sketched out a cautious approach to U.S. global engagement that would represent a departure from the policies of the Bush administration. Yet their ideas are very much in tune with the evolving views of the GOP base. In the Pew Research Center’s political typology […]
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, […]
The already tarnished image of the United States in Pakistan has worsened over the past year. Currently, just 12% of Pakistanis view the U.S. favorably; in 2010, 17% saw America in a positive light. However, reactions to the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden had no observable impact on the overall image of the […]
America’s image remains positive in most of the nations surveyed, and favorable ratings are particularly high in Europe. In most predominantly Muslim countries, however, views of the United States continue to be overwhelmingly negative. For the most part, opinions of the U.S. have changed little, if at all, in most countries for which trends are […]
The image of the United States remains overwhelmingly negative in predominantly Muslim countries. U.S. favorability ratings are low in nearly all of the Muslim nations surveyed, and majorities or pluralities in all seven say the U.S. does not take the interests of countries like theirs into account when making foreign policy decisions. Moreover, many continue […]
The evangelical leaders attending the Lausanne Congress were asked to assess the past, present and future of evangelical Christianity in their respective countries. Taken as a whole, their responses provide a window on the state of evangelicalism around the world. Leaders from the Global South emerge as much more optimistic than those from the Global […]
Although Osama bin Laden was not well-regarded in recent years, few Pakistanis approve of the military operation that killed him, and most say it is a bad thing that the al Qaeda leader is dead. Looking forward, many think the killing of bin Laden will create even greater tensions between the U.S. and their country. […]
On balance, extremist groups tend to receive negative ratings in the predominantly Muslim nations surveyed, although there are significant levels of support for these organizations in many countries. There is no country in which a majority has a favorable opinion of the militant Palestinian organization Hamas. Among Palestinians themselves, Hamas’ image has declined in recent […]