Why Do Some Americans Leave Their Religion While Others Stay?
Many U.S. adults (35%) have moved on from the religion of their youth. Yet most Americans have not, including a majority – 56% – who still identify with their childhood religion.
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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 […]
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Analysis of Ten Commandments Decisions
On June 27, 2005, the Supreme Court issued sharply divided decisions in two cases involving constitutional challenges to government-sponsored displays of the Ten Commandments. In McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky (03-1693), a 5-4 majority held that two Kentucky counties had “predominantly religious” purposes in posting the Ten Commandments in their courthouses, […]
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Views of Muslim-Americans Hold Steady After London Bombings
Summary of Findings The July 7 terrorist bombings in London drew considerable public attention and raised fears of another attack in the United States, but these concerns do not translate into less favorable opinions of either Muslim-Americans or Islam. And compared with 2003, fewer now say that Islam is more likely than other religions to […]
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Views of Muslim-Americans Hold Steady After London Bombings
The July 7 terrorist bombings in London drew considerable public attention and raised fears of another attack in the United States, but these concerns do not translate into less favorable opinions of either Muslim-Americans or Islam. And compared with 2003, fewer now say that Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence. The […]
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Islamic Extremism: Common Concern for Muslim and Western Publics
Concerns over Islamic extremism, extensive in the West even before this month’s terrorist attacks in London, are shared to a considerable degree by the publics in several predominantly Muslim nations surveyed.
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Abortion Wild Card In Battle Over O’Connor’s Successor
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s decision to step down from the Supreme Court sets up a possible next chapter in the nation’s culture wars. If the debate over O’Connor’s replacement turns into a referendum on Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision establishing a woman’s right to abortion, the argument is likely to galvanize a significant […]
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Signature Reports
Many Religious ‘Nones’ Around the World Hold Spiritual Beliefs
Many religious “nones,” which include atheists and agnostics, in 22 countries hold religious or spiritual beliefs, such as in an afterlife or something beyond the natural world.
47% of U.S. Adults Have a Personal or Family Connection to Catholicism
Nearly half of U.S. adults are connected to Catholicism. Read about going to Mass, Communion, confession and more.
Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off
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.
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.
