Religion

data essayJun 25, 2025

Nearly seven-in-ten Americans identify with a religion – higher than the shares seen in several other wealthy countries. Explore our interactive feature to see how the U.S. compares with more than 30 countries on questions about spirituality and religion.

Related: Believing in Spirits and Life After Death Is Common Around the World

short readJul 29, 2025

reportJun 16, 2025

Woman praying with rosary beads in hands

reportJun 9, 2025

Bar chart showing that Christians are the world’s largest religious group

All

Religion

Publications

Filtered by:

reportApr 1, 2009

No Decline in Belief That Obama is a Muslim

More than two months into Barack Obama’s presidency, as many people incorrectly identify him as a Muslim as did so during the 2008 campaign with white evangelicals and Republicans most likely to misidentify his religious affiliation.
reportMar 19, 2009

Public Has Split Verdict on Increased Level of Unmarried Motherhood

There is a stronger consensus in public opinion about the social cost of out-of-wedlock births than there is about the morality of these births.
featureMar 19, 2009

Most Mainline Protestants Say Society Should Accept Homosexuality

Members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, two mainline Protestant denominations, are considering whether to allow the ordination of non-celibate gays and lesbians as members of their clergy. The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, finds that majorities of […]
transcriptMar 17, 2009

The Political Obligations of Catholics: A Conversation With the Most Rev. Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Denver

Catholic civic engagement plays a central role in American politics, and the question of how Catholic convictions translate to the public square is a matter of frequent discussion. In his recent book Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life (2008), the Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, archbishop of […]
reportMar 16, 2009

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 […]
reportMar 12, 2009

Few in Pakistan Support Extremists

But Few Favor Military Confrontation
featureMar 12, 2009

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 […]
short readsMar 9, 2009

Stem Cell Support

A majority of Americans say it is important to conduct stem-cell research.
fact sheetMar 6, 2009

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 […]
reportMar 6, 2009

Why Surveys of Muslim Americans Differ

Because Muslim Americans make up a very small percentage of the U.S. public, it is difficult to provide a reliable picture of their views and differences in survey design can crucially affect findings.

Signature Reports

reportFeb 26, 2025

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.

data essayDec 21, 2022

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.

reportMay 21, 2025