Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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.
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The general public’s political views are strongly linked to their attitudes on climate and energy issues. But politics is a less important factor on biomedical, food safety, space issues.
Some legal scholars and others are trying to determine how a ruling granting same-sex couples a constitutional right to wed might affect religious institutions.
In June of 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled all state bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry nationwide. This timeline highlights the changes in state policies leading up to that ruling.
While laws allowing same-sex marriage have become more common in European countries and in U.S. states, gay marriage advocates also have gained ground in some parts of Latin America. Most recently, the Mexican Supreme Court issued a ruling making it much easier for gay and lesbian couples to wed.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a newly declared Republican candidate for president, is hoping to attract support from conservative evangelical Christian voters. Jindal himself is a Catholic, and, as the son of immigrants from Hindu-majority India, was raised in the Hindu faith.
While either Christians or Muslims make up the largest religious group in nine-in-ten nations around the globe, the religiously unaffiliated rank second in size in most of the Americas and Europe, as well as in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
55% of Catholics rated Francis positively on addressing sex abuse, and 53% gave him high marks on environmental issues. But these were two out of nine areas in which Francis drew the least positive ratings.
A solid majority of U.S. Catholics believe that Earth is warming. But climate change is a highly politicized issue that sharply divides American Catholics, like the U.S. public as a whole, mainly along political party lines.
A solid majority of U.S. Catholics believe that Earth is warming. But climate change is a highly politicized issue that sharply divides American Catholics, like the U.S. public as a whole, mainly along political party lines.
Popes have written encyclicals on an array of topics, ranging from the nature of work to the virginity of Jesus’ mother, Mary.
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.
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.
Christians will make up 87% of voting members in the Senate and House of Representatives, combined, in the 2025-27 congressional session.
Long-term analysis of 198 countries and territories shows government restrictions on religion and social hostilities toward religious groups go hand in hand.
