Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Leaders

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    Religion and the Presidency

    On Jan. 20, 2009, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life has assembled a variety of resources on religion and the presidency, including reports, event transcripts, polling data and a graphic featuring the religious affiliations of U.S. presidents […]

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    The Religious Affiliations of U.S. Presidents

    Nearly half the nation’s presidents have been affiliated with the Episcopal or Presbyterian churches. John F. Kennedy remains the only Catholic to have held the nation’s highest office. Only three U.S. presidents — Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson — have been unaffiliated with a specific religious tradition. Sources: Ronald Reagan: The Ronald Reagan […]

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    Bush and Public Opinion

    Overview: Bush and Public Opinion As George W. Bush prepares to leave the White House, the United States is in many ways dramatically different from when he took the oath of office in 2001. His first few months as president were largely unremarkable, despite the contentious 2000 election. But the horrific terror attacks of Sept. […]

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    Global Public Opinion in the Bush Years (2001-2008)

    Once he takes office, President-elect Barack Obama will have to navigate a world that has grown highly critical of the United States. Since 2001, the Pew Global Attitudes Project has documented a decline in America’s international image amid widespread opposition to U.S. foreign policy.

  • transcript

    America and Islam After Bush

    Some of the nation’s leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in December, 2008, for the Pew Forum’s biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. Vali Nasr, author of the 2006 book, The Shia Revival, surveyed the geo-political landscape of today’s Middle East, arguing that the 2003 invasion of Iraq has fundamentally […]

  • transcript

    Religion and Race: A Historical and Contemporary Perspective

    Some of the nation’s leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in December 2008 for the Pew Forum’s biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. Eddie S.Glaude Jr., author of In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America, discussed religion and race in America. Specifically, he described historical […]