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    Pragmatic Americans Liberal and Conservative on Social Issues

    Summary of Findings Americans cannot be easily characterized as conservative or liberal on today’s most pressing social questions. The public’s point of view varies from issue to issue. They are conservative in opposing gay marriage and gay adoption, liberal in favoring embryonic stem cell research and a little of both on abortion. Along with favoring […]

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    Pragmatic Americans Liberal and Conservative on Social Issues

    Navigate this Report Summary of Findings Abortion Opinions Stable Most Don’t Doubt Their Opinion on Abortion Majorities Continue to Support Stem Cell Research Continued Opposition to Gay Marriage Among Gay Marriage Supporters, Division over How Best to Proceed Catholics, Mainline Protestants Support Civil Unions Growing Number See Homosexuality as Innate, Unchangeable Trait Opinion on Pharmaceutical […]

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    Washington State High Court Upholds Gay Marriage Ban

    Washington, D.C. The Washington State Supreme Court today ruled, 5-4, that the state constitution does not guarantee a right to same-sex marriage. The decision came after 19 gay and lesbian couples sued to overturn Washington’s Defense of Marriage Act, a 1998 law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. The Pew Forum provides answers to the following […]

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    Public Opinion Trends on Gay Marriage

    A Pew Forum Fact Sheet The Pew Research Center has tracked public opinion on gay marriage as it has fluctuated over the past several years. Following is an excerpt from a June 2006 survey analysis by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, followed by links to earlier surveys that include analyses […]

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    The Revival of Shia Islam

    Washington, D.C. Recent violence between Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim guerrilla group, and Israel; sectarian conflict in Iraq and escalating tensions around Iran’s nuclear ambitions have drawn urgent attention to the resurgence and politicization of Shiite Islam and its relationship to Sunni Islam. The Pew Forum and the Council on Foreign Relations invited Vali Nasr, author […]

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    The Death Penalty Today: Defend It, Mend It or End It?

    National Press Club Washington, D.C. Since the Supreme Court lifted its moratorium on the death penalty 30 years ago, 38 states and the federal government have reinstated capital punishment. In recent years, there has been a nationwide debate over the proper application, morality and constitutionality of the death penalty. Some argue that there are systemic […]

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    Timothy Samuel Shah Explains ’Why God is Winning’

    Washington, D.C. For much of the 20th century, social scientists and policymakers argued that democratization and modernity would render religion insignificant and irrelevant. They were wrong, says Timothy Shah, senior Pew Forum fellow in religion and world affairs, who contends religion is booming in many countries and democracy has given religious leaders a growing political […]

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    John Green Addresses Religious Dynamic in Stem Cell Politics

    Washington, D.C. Values and morality, often grounded in religious belief, have shaped the political contours of the stem cell research debate. As Congress and President Bush take up the issue, the Pew Forum provides answers to the following questions. Featuring: John Green, Senior Fellow in Religion and American Politics, Pew Forum on Religion & Public […]

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Key Findings From the Global Religious Futures Project

The Global Religious Futures (GRF) project is jointly funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and The John Templeton Foundation. Here are some big-picture findings from the GRF, together with context from other Pew Research Center studies.