Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

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Short Reads

Short-form data and analysis from Pew Research Center writers and social scientists. To view all our reports and publications, visit our main Publications page.

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  • short reads

    Northeastern Flag Flyers

    That’s the portion of residents of the Northeastern United States who say they display the American flag at their home, office or on their car — significantly more than say so among residents in the South or West.

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    Nations Call US Biggest Threat to Environment

    That’s the number of countries, among the 37 nations where data are available from the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes survey, in which a majority or clear plurality name the U.S. as the country that is “hurting the world’s environment the most.”

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    Countries Worry About China’s Military Power

    That’s the number of countries, among the 47 nations covered in the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes survey, in which majorities or pluralities called China’s growing military power a “bad thing.”

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    Muslim Americans Who Favor Big Government

    That’s the percentage of Muslim Americans who say they prefer a bigger government that provides more services (70%) over a smaller government providing fewer services (21%).

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    Say Government Responsible for the Helpless

    That’s the large share of the public that now agrees that the government has a responsibility “to take care of people who can’t take care of themselves” — up from 61% in 2002.

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    Going to the Dogs…and Cats

    Nearly six-in-ten (57%) of all adults in this country own a pet or pets of one kind or another, with dog owners (39% of all adults) outnumbering cat owners (23%) — and owners of all other pets trailing far behind, a Pew survey finds.

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    Political Preaching from the Pulpit

    That’s the small percentage of churchgoing voters who said they were urged to vote for particular candidates or parties by their clergy or other religious groups. However, among regular churchgoers, nearly three-in-ten (27%) say that information about political parties or candidates in the recent election was available at their place of worship in 2006.

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    Support Stem Cell Research

    That’s the proportion of the U.S. public that believes that it is more important to conduct stem cell research that may result in new medical cures than to avoid destroying the potential life of embryos involved in such research.

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    Should Mosques Express Political Views?

    That’s the percentage of Muslim Americans who say that mosques should express their views on day-to-day social and political matters, 49% of U.S. Muslims take the opposite view.

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    Support Public Library Book Banning

    That’s the percentage of U.S. adults who completely (30%) or mostly (16%) agree that “books that contain dangerous ideas should be banned from public libraries” — the lowest level of support in 20 years.