Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Beliefs & Practices

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    Islam in Southeast Asia

    Washington, D.C. Anwar Ibrahim has been called a leading force for reform in Malaysia and has written extensively on the political influence of Islam in Southeast Asia. After serving from 1993 to 1998 as Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, Anwar was considered the heir apparent of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad until he was abruptly fired and […]

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    The Supreme Court’s Decision in Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita

    On Feb. 29, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that the adherents of a small religious group can continue, for now at least, to import and use an illegal drug in their worship services. The court, in a unanimous decision written by new Chief Justice John Roberts, held that the federal government had not adequately demonstrated […]

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    Prospects for Inter-Religious Understanding

    Although tolerance is an American ideal and freedom of religion is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, American history has often been characterized by inter-religious conflict. Without question, however, much progress has been made in overcoming blatant forms of institutionalized religious discrimination. But historic tensions among American religious groups, not to mention […]

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    Believing Without Belonging: Just How Secular Is Europe?

    Key West, Florida Some of the nation’s leading journalists gathered in Key West, Florida, in December 2005 for the Pew Forum’s biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. Conference speaker Grace Davie, who has a chair in the Sociology of Religion at the University of Exeter and is the director of the […]

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    In God’s Name? Evaluating the Links between Religious Extremism and Terrorism

    Washington, D.C. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life interviewed Dr. Robert A. Pape on Oct. 21, 2005, following the roundtable on “In God’s Name? Evaluating the Links between Religious Extremism and Terrorism,” co-sponsored by the Forum and the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Pape is an associate professor of political science at the […]

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    From Scopes to Dover : Should the Courts Permit Public Schools to Teach Intelligent Design?

    National Press Club Washington, D.C. In late September 2005, Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District et al. went to trial in federal district court in Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs challenged the decision of the Dover School Board requiring that public schools teach that intelligent design is an alternative theory to evolution. The plaintiffs alleged […]

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    From Darwin to Dover: An Overview of Important Cases in the Evolution Debate

    Almost 150 years after Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking theory on the origins of life, Americans are still fighting over evolution. If anything, the controversy is growing in both size and intensity. Recent polls indicate that challenges to Darwinian evolution have substantial support among the American people. According to a July 2005 survey sponsored by […]

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    Public Divided on Origins of Life

    Religion A Strength And Weakness For Both Parties Navigate this Report Executive Summary Contrasting Party Images: The Political Parties and Religion Evolution & Creationism Religion & Politics Promoting Democracy Support for Israel Religion & Mideast Views Faith-Based Aid Gays in the Military Other Issues Executive Summary Both major political parties have a problem with their […]