Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Religion

Icon for promotion number 1

Sign up for our Religion newsletter

Sent weekly on Wednesday

Thank you for subscribing!

Processing…

  • report

    Faith-Based Programs Still Popular, Less Visible

    More than eight years after former President George W. Bush unveiled his faith-based initiative to make it easier for religious groups to receive government funding to provide social services, the policy continues to draw broad public support. But as was the case when Bush first announced the initiative, many Americans express concerns about blurring the […]

  • transcript

    The Future of Evangelicals: A Conversation with Pastor Rick Warren

    The evangelical Christian movement historically has been defined by its members’ distinctive doctrinal standards and practices. Yet in recent years many Americans have come to understand evangelicals more by their political, rather than religious, identity. The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life invited Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, […]

  • report

    Religious Groups’ Official Positions on Capital Punishment

    American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. Since 1982, the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. has opposed capital punishment in the United States. American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A., Resolution on Capital Punishment In this research package An Impassioned Debate An overview of the death penalty in America. The Death Penalty and the Supreme Court […]

  • report

    End of Communism Cheered but Now with More Reservations

    Publics of former Iron Curtain countries generally look back approvingly at the collapse of communism. Majorities in most former Soviet republics and Eastern European countries endorse the emergence of democracy and capitalism. However, the initial enthusiasm about these changes has dimmed in most of the countries surveyed.

  • report

    The “Zeal of the Convert”: Is It the Real Deal?

    A common perception about individuals who switch religions is that they are very fervent about their new faith. A new analysis by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life provides quantitative support for this piece of conventional wisdom often referred to as the “zeal of the convert.” The analysis finds that people […]

  • report

    Mapping the Global Muslim Population – Map: Distribution of Muslim Population in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Roll over a country bubble to see its estimated 2009 Muslim population, the percentage of its population that is Muslim and the percentage of the world Muslim population it represents. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/uploadedFiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/Muslim/I_africa_map.swf * Indicates the use of a source with a small enough sample size to make these estimates somewhat less reliable. Due to this greater […]

Signature Reports

data essay

Key Findings From the Global Religious Futures Project

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.