Religious Groups Differ Widely in Their 2026 Midterm Preferences
White evangelical Protestants and White Catholics favor Republicans in the midterms, while other religious groups split or lean Democratic.
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Laws Penalizing Blasphemy, Apostasy and Defamation of Religion are Widespread
On Nov. 20, a Pakistani court ordered blasphemy charges dropped against a Christian teenager who had been accused of burning pages from the Quran. A new Pew Forum analysis finds that as of 2011 nearly half the countries and territories in the world have laws against blasphemy, apostasy or defamation.
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Faith on the Hill: The Religious Composition of the 113th Congress
The newly elected 113th Congress includes the first Buddhist to serve in the Senate, the first Hindu to serve in either chamber and the first member of Congress to describe her religion as “none.” While Congress remains majority Protestant, the institution is far less so today than it was 50 years ago.
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Catholics’ Views of U.S. Bishops
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will meet in Baltimore for their annual Fall General Assembly on Nov. 12-15. Seven-in-ten Catholics say they are very (24%) or somewhat satisfied (46%) with the leadership of the American bishops, according to a Pew Research Center Survey.
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How the Faithful Voted: 2012 Preliminary Analysis
Obama’s margin of victory in the 2012 popular vote was smaller than in 2008. But the religious contours of the electorate were similar to recent elections – traditionally Republican groups such as white evangelicals and weekly churchgoers strongly backed Romney, while traditionally Democratic groups such as black Protestants, Hispanic Catholics, Jews and the religiously unaffiliated backed Obama by large margins.
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Trends in Voter Preferences Among Religious Groups
This interactive graphic summarizes the voting preferences of major religious groups, drawing on data from the latest survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press among registered voters reached on landlines and cell phones.
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Latinos, Religion and Campaign 2012
Latinos are divided by religion in their preferences in the upcoming presidential election. Three-quarters of Latino Catholics and eight-in-ten religiously unaffiliated Latinos support President Barack Obama’s re-election.
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Latinos, Religion and Campaign 2012
A recent survey finds Latino Catholic voters strongly favor Obama, while Latino evangelical Protestants are more closely divided in their support for Obama and Romney. The survey also finds rising support for same-sex marriage among Latinos.
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The Catholic “Swing” Vote
Catholics are often identified as a major “swing” voting group in American politics. A new analysis shows that the only group of Catholics that has been divided in recent elections is white Catholics who identify as political moderates.
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In 25-Country Survey, Americans Especially Likely To View Fellow Citizens as Morally Bad
Across 25 countries, Americans are the most likely to see the morality and ethics of people in their country as somewhat or very bad.
Religious Diversity Around the World
Singapore is the world’s most religiously diverse country overall as of 2020, while Yemen is the least diverse. But the U.S. ranks first among nations with very large populations, followed by Nigeria and Russia.
Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off
The Christian share of the population, after years of decline, has been relatively stable since 2019. And the religiously unaffiliated population, after rising rapidly for decades, has leveled off – at least temporarily.
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.
