Religious Groups Differ Widely in Their 2026 Midterm Preferences
White evangelical Protestants and White Catholics favor Republicans in the midterms, while other religious groups split or lean Democratic.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Where Americans Find Meaning in Life
Family is the most common source of meaning in America, but economic, religious and political divides shape where people find meaning in other aspects of life.
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Eastern and Western Europeans Differ on Importance of Religion, Views of Minorities, and Key Social Issues
The European continent today is split in public attitudes toward religion, minorities and social issues such as gay marriage and legal abortion.
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Recent Chinese dealings with faith groups reflect a pattern of government restrictions on religion
While the Chinese government asserts that it protects religious freedom, a series of annual Pew Research Center reports on religious restrictions around the globe have detailed government efforts aimed at maintaining strict control over religious beliefs and practices in the country. Two recent events have brought this into focus: China’s agreement with the Vatican on […]
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After recent revelations, U.S. Catholics give Francis low marks on handling of sex abuse scandal
Just three-in-ten American Catholics now say the pontiff is doing a good or excellent job of addressing the sex abuse scandal.
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Confidence in Pope Francis Down Sharply in U.S.
Just three-in-ten Catholic adults say Francis is doing an excellent or good job addressing the sex abuse scandal, down 14 points from this January and 24 points since 2015.
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‘New Age’ beliefs common among both religious and nonreligious Americans
Many U.S. Christians – as well as the religiously unaffiliated – hold “New Age” beliefs, which include belief in reincarnation and astrology.
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Black men are less religious than black women, but more religious than white women and men
Research has shown that men in the United States are generally less religious than women. And while this pattern holds true among black Americans, black men are still a highly religious group.
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Religious Typology Quiz
Are you a Sunday Stalwart? Solidly Secular? Or somewhere in between? Take our quiz to find out which one of the religious typology groups is your best match and see how you compare with our nationally representative survey of more than 4,000 U.S. adults.
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How the religious typology groups compare
The religious typology sorts American adults into seven cohesive, like-minded groups based on the religious and spiritual beliefs they share, how actively they practice their faith, the value they place on their religion, and the other sources of meaning and fulfillment in their lives. Use this tool to compare the groups on key topics and demographics.
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Q&A: The challenges of creating a religious typology
This new analysis creates a typology that cuts across denominations, sorting Americans into seven groups, or “clusters,” based on their religious practices and values, their views about religion in general, and the sources of meaning and fulfillment in their lives. Rich Morin, a senior editor at the Center, explains how the study was put together, and discusses the role of cluster analysis in creating the typology.
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In 25-Country Survey, Americans Especially Likely To View Fellow Citizens as Morally Bad
Across 25 countries, Americans are the most likely to see the morality and ethics of people in their country as somewhat or very bad.
Religious Diversity Around the World
Singapore is the world’s most religiously diverse country overall as of 2020, while Yemen is the least diverse. But the U.S. ranks first among nations with very large populations, followed by Nigeria and Russia.
Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off
The Christian share of the population, after years of decline, has been relatively stable since 2019. And the religiously unaffiliated population, after rising rapidly for decades, has leveled off – at least temporarily.
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.
