Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Each Wednesday and Saturday evening, Naomi Magel and her husband attend Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Elgin, Texas. After the service, the couple takes their pastor, the Rev. George Joseph, out for something to eat. Over the past year, one subject has come up in conversation again and again. “We talk about Pope […]
One year into his pontificate, Pope Francis remains immensely popular among American Catholics and is widely seen as a force for positive change within the Roman Catholic Church. More than 80% of U.S. Catholics say they have a favorable view of the pontiff.
A third of the 198 countries studied had a high or very high level of social hostilities involving religion in 2012. About three-in-ten countries had a high or very high level of government restrictions on religion, roughly the same as in 2011.
Even as publics in many of the surveyed Muslim-majority countries express a clear preference for women to dress conservatively, many also say women should be able to decide for themselves what to wear.
Nine-in-ten Americans say they celebrate Christmas, and three-quarters say they believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. But only about half see Christmas mostly as a religious holiday, while one-third view it as more of a cultural holiday.
