Majority of U.S. Catholics Express Favorable View of Pope Francis
Most U.S. Catholics view Francis favorably and say he represents change in the church. Majorities also support allowing Catholics to use birth control and priests to marry.
Most U.S. Catholics view Francis favorably and say he represents change in the church. Majorities also support allowing Catholics to use birth control and priests to marry.
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This Pew Research Center analysis harnesses computational techniques to identify, collect and analyze the sermons that U.S. churches livestream or share on their websites each week.
Household size and composition often vary by religious affiliation, data from 130 countries and territories reveals. Muslims and Hindus have larger households than Christians and religious โnones,โ influenced in part by regional norms.
A large majority of Americans feel that religion is losing influence in public life, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey.
The religious landscape of the United States continues to change at a rapid clip, with both Protestantism and Catholicism experiencing losses of population share.
More than 15 years after U.S. bishops pledged โzero toleranceโ for sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, reports of previously unpublicized misconduct continue to receive wide media coverage.
Giving a share of oneโs income to the church has been a part of European tradition for centuries. Today, several countries continue to collect a โchurch taxโ on behalf of officially recognized religious organizations, in some cases levying the tax on all registered members.
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.
Indians see religious tolerance as a central part of who they are as a nation. Across the major religious groups, most people say it is very important to respect all religions to be โtruly Indian.โ
Today, most Black adults say they rely on prayer to help make major decisions, and view opposing racism as essential to their religious faith.
The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the share of Americans who do not identify with any organized religion is growing. These changes affect all regions in the country and many demographic groups.
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