Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Political Issues

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    History of Clergy in Congress

    Seven ordained ministers hold seats in the new Congress – one more than the number in the very first U.S. Congress (1789-1791).[1. Figures for the number of clergy serving in the first Congress come from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.] But because Congress was a much smaller body in the late 18th century than […]

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    Faith on the Hill

    More than nine-in-ten members of the newly elected 114th Congress are Christian — a significantly higher share than is seen in the general population. However, many other major religious groups are represented in the body, including Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and the unaffiliated.

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    As U.S. Energy Production Grows, Public Policy Views Show Little Change

    Survey Report The public is gradually becoming aware of America’s energy boom. Currently, 54% say domestic energy production has been increasing in recent years, up from 48% in September 2013. Meanwhile, the recent slide in gas prices is registering widely: An overwhelming 89% say that that pump prices have fallen in the past month. Despite […]

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    About the Survey

    The analysis in this report is based on telephone interviews conducted December 3-7, 2014 among a national sample of 1,507 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (605 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 902 were interviewed on a cell phone, including […]

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    Privacy in 2025: Experts’ Predictions

    We canvassed thousands of experts to ask them to predict the future of privacy in America and found they were divided on whether or not a secure, trusted privacy-rights infrastructure would be in place by 2025.

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    About Half See CIA Interrogation Methods as Justified

    Following the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on post-9/11 CIA interrogation practices, 51% of Americans say these CIA methods were justified, compared with 29% who say they were not.

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    About the Survey

    The analysis in this report is based on telephone interviews conducted December 11-14, 2014 among a national sample of 1,001 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in the continental United States (500 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 501 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 306 who had no landline […]