Americans Say Religious Aspects of Christmas Are Declining in Public Life
Most U.S. adults believe the religious aspects of Christmas are emphasized less now than in the past – even as relatively few are bothered by this trend.
Beliefs & Practices
All
Beliefs & Practices
Publications
-
-
Ethiopia is an outlier in the Orthodox Christian world
Ethiopia has 36 million Orthodox Christians, the world’s second-largest Orthodox population after Russia. By many measures, Orthodox Ethiopians have much higher levels of religious commitment than do Orthodox Christians in the faith’s heartland of Central and Eastern Europe.
-
Views of transgender issues divide along religious lines
Most Christians in America say that whether someone is a man or a woman is determined by their sex at birth. Yet, many religious “nones” have different views.
-
A growing share of Americans say it’s not necessary to believe in God to be moral
Most U.S. adults now say it is not necessary to believe in God to be moral and have good values, up from about half who expressed this view in 2011.
-
Malala’s 2012 shooting came at time of high social hostilities in Pakistan
Malala Yousafzai’s shooting came at a time when social hostilities involving religion were at a high point, both globally and in Pakistan.
-
More Americans now say they’re spiritual but not religious
About a quarter of U.S. adults now say they think of themselves as spiritual but not religious, up 8 percentage points in five years.
-
Strong religious beliefs are only one part of Muslim American identity
Nearly all Muslim Americans (97%) say they take pride in being a member of the Islamic faith. But their devotion to core religious beliefs and practices is only part of a religious identity.
-
U.S. Protestants Are Not Defined by Reformation-Era Controversies 500 Years Later
Five hundred years after the start of the Protestant Reformation, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that U.S. Protestants are not united about – and in some cases, are not even aware of – some of the controversies that were central to the historical schism between Protestantism and Catholicism.
-
U.S. Muslims are religiously observant, but open to multiple interpretations of Islam
For American Muslims, being highly religious does not necessarily translate into acceptance of traditional notions of Islam.
-
Like most Americans, U.S. Muslims concerned about extremism in the name of Islam
About eight-in-ten U.S. Muslims (82%) say they are either very (66%) or somewhat concerned (16%) about extremism committed in the name of Islam around the world.
