Religion in public schools has long been a controversial issue. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1962 that teachers and administrators cannot lead prayers in public schools, and a decision in 2000 barred school districts from sponsoring student-led prayers at football games. At the same time, the court has held that students retain a First […]
More than 55 years after the Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling striking down school-sponsored prayer, Americans continue to fight over the place of religion in public schools. Questions about religion in the classroom no longer make quite as many headlines as they once did, but the issue remains an important battleground in the broader […]
In addition to government actions, there also was a dramatic increase in Europe in some measures of social hostility to religion.
Over the decade from 2007 to 2017, government restrictions on religion - laws, policies and actions by state officials that restrict religious beliefs and practices - increased markedly around the world.
Most states in the U.S. allow children to be exempt from vaccinations due to religious concerns.
Public support for the separation of church and state is widespread in Western Europe, even in countries that have a government-mandated church tax to fund religious institutions, according to a new analysis of a recent Pew Research Center study.
In general, Western European countries that have a mandatory church tax aren’t any less religious than those that don’t have such a tax.
Sizable majorities of adults in six European countries with a mandatory tax say they pay it and few say they are likely to opt out.
Giving a share of one’s income to the church has been a part of European tradition for centuries. Today, several countries continue to collect a “church tax” on behalf of officially recognized religious organizations, in some cases levying the tax on all registered members.
The new Congress is slightly more religiously diverse than its predecessor, but it remains overwhelmingly Christian.
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About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
