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

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short readsJul 2, 2013

Egypt’s restrictions on religion coincide with lack of religious tolerance

In Egypt, the government’s restrictions on religion also are coupled with a Muslim public that is considerably less tolerant of religious pluralism than Muslims elsewhere.
reportJul 2, 2013

Growth of the Nonreligious

About half of Americans say the growing number of “people who are not religious” is bad for American society. But a similar share say either that this trend is good or that it does not make much difference, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center.
reportJun 27, 2013

Canada’s Changing Religious Landscape

As Canadians prepare to celebrate Canada Day on July 1, a new Pew Research Center analysis of Canadian census and survey data finds that more Canadians belong to minority faiths than ever before. In addition, the number of Canadians with no religious affiliation has been rising, and attendance at religious services has been dropping.
short readsJun 26, 2013

Many American Catholics at odds with Vatican on homosexuality

Four-in-ten Catholics say there is “a lot” of conflict between their personal religious beliefs and homosexuality.
fact sheetJun 26, 2013

High Court Strikes Down DOMA but Leaves Fate of Proposition 8 Uncertain

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. The high court declined to rule on Proposition 8, leaving the legal status of same-sex marriage in California unclear. Read our legal analysis of the two major decisions.
short readsJun 25, 2013

How LGBT adults see society and how the public sees them

Two Pew Research Center surveys — one of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender adults and the other of the American public — found a common thread: that society as a whole has become more accepting of gays and lesbians.
short readsJun 20, 2013

For religious LGBT adults, more commitment sometimes brings more conflict

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults are generally less religious than U.S. society as a whole, a recent Pew Research Center survey found. About half (51%) declare any religious affiliation at all, versus close to eight-in-ten U.S. adults; about a fifth (17%) are both religiously affiliated and say religion is very important in their lives, […]
reportJun 20, 2013

Arab Spring Adds to Global Restrictions on Religion

Pew Research’s fourth major report on global restrictions on religion finds that the share of countries with high or very high restrictions on religion rose from 37% in 2010 to 40% in 2011. The Middle East and North Africa continued to have the highest levels of restrictions in the year when much of the Arab Spring uprisings occurred, with social hostilities involving religion increasing markedly and government restrictions remaining high.
short readsJun 13, 2013

South Carolina valedictorian reignites debate on prayer in school

Earlier this month, the valedictorian at Liberty (S.C.) High School ripped up his prepared graduation speech, which had been approved by school officials, and instead recited the Lord’s Prayer at the public school’s graduation ceremony. According to CNN, Roy Costner IV said he was trying to make a statement that “taking prayer out of schools […]
reportJun 13, 2013

A Survey of LGBT Americans

An overwhelming share of America’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults (92%) say society has become more accepting of them in the past decade and an equal number expect it to grow even more accepting in the decade ahead. They attribute the changes to a variety of factors, from people knowing and interacting with someone […]

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