Buddhism’s Recent Decline in East Asia
Buddhism is the only major religion in the world with a falling number of adherents. The decline is especially pronounced in East Asia, including China, South Korea and Japan.
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Religion in the News: 2008
This report is a special segment of A Year in the News, an analysis of the mainstream media in 2008 conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. This segment of the analysis was written in collaboration with the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. The biggest single religion […]
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Few in Pakistan Support Extremists
But Few Favor Military Confrontation
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Is a Bad Economy Good for Church Attendance?
Contrary to recent media reports suggesting that the country’s economic troubles have led to higher levels of church attendance, a Pew Forum analysis of polls by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds that while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has shed over half its value since October 2007, there has […]
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Stimulus Package Stimulates Church-State Debate
The economic stimulus legislation signed into law on Feb. 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama authorizes state governments to fund the “modernization, renovation and repair” of buildings on public and private college and university campuses. But the provision prevents these schools from using this funding to improve buildings that are “used for sectarian instruction or […]
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Religious Groups Agree: Fixing the Nation’s Economy Is Job One
In a Feb. 24 address to Congress, President Barack Obama vowed to tackle the problems at the root of the nation’s faltering economy. While there is general agreement among religious groups that strengthening the economy should be a top policy priority for the government, people of different faiths are divided in their support for addressing […]
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The Stronger Sex — Spiritually Speaking
March is Women’s History Month. A new analysis of data from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, finds that women are more religious than men on a variety of measures. Data: Pew Forum U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted in 2007, released in 2008.
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Religiously Mixed Couples: Cupid’s Arrow Often Hits People of Different Faiths
The U.S. Religious Landscape Surveyfinds that more than one-in-four (27%) American adults who are married or living with a partner are in religiously mixed relationships. If people from different Protestant denominational families are included – for example, a marriage between a Methodist and a Lutheran – nearly four-in-ten (37%) couples are religiously mixed. The survey, […]
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Reject Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
On his 200th birthday, Charles Darwin can claim relatively few American adherents to his theory of the evolution of species through natural selection. In a recent survey, 63% of Americans say they believe that humans and other animals have either always existed in their present form or have evolved over time under the guidance of a supreme being
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Signature Reports
Religion Holds Steady in America
Analysis of our polls and other data shows no clear evidence of a religious revival among young adults. Read more about religiousness by age and gender.
Many Religious ‘Nones’ Around the World Hold Spiritual Beliefs
Many religious “nones,” which include atheists and agnostics, in 22 countries hold religious or spiritual beliefs, such as in an afterlife or something beyond the natural world.
Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off
After years of decline, the U.S. Christian share now shows signs of leveling off. The new Religious Landscape Study explores trends in identity, beliefs and practices.
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.
