Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Religion & Politics

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    Moved by the Spirit: Pentecostal Power & Politics after 100 Years

    University of Southern California Los Angeles, California April 2006 marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles, an event that is often cited as the birth of modern pentecostalism. Since then, pentecostalism has emerged as one of the fastest-growing Christian movements in the world. Nowhere is this more […]

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    The New Face of Global Christianity: The Emergence of ’Progressive Pentecostalism’

    Los Angeles, California The Pew Forum interviewed Dr. Donald Miller of the University of Southern California in conjunction with a roundtable on pentecostalism it co-sponsored with the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles, Calif. Dr. Miller discussed the birth and evolution of pentecostalism and the implications of the movement for social change and […]

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    Prospects for Inter-Religious Understanding

    Although tolerance is an American ideal and freedom of religion is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, American history has often been characterized by inter-religious conflict. Without question, however, much progress has been made in overcoming blatant forms of institutionalized religious discrimination. But historic tensions among American religious groups, not to mention […]

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    Wal-Mart a Good Place to Shop But Some Critics Too

    Summary of Findings As shoppers flock to the stores for holiday gifts, some express mixed feelings about the nation’s largest retailer. Nearly every American lives near enough a Wal-Mart to shop there, and 84% say they have done so in the past year. Praise for the retailer’s low prices, wide selection and convenience flow freely, […]

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    An Uncertain Road: Muslims and the Future of Europe

    Introduction Throughout Europe today, it is not uncommon to see women wearing headscarves and men with skull caps and beards. On many European streets, shops now sport signs in Arabic and other Near Eastern languages and sell an array of exotic looking products from the Middle East and other parts of the Islamic world. Indeed, […]

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    House Resolution 260

    Recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, Nostra Aetate, and the continuing need for mutual… (Introduced in House) HCON 260 IH 109th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 260 Recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on the Relation of […]

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    Reading the Polls on Evolution and Creationism

    This week in federal district court, a group of parents is challenging the Dover, Pa. school board’s decision to require the teaching of “intelligent design” in science classes, on the grounds that this policy violates the principle of separation of church and state. The case is just the latest in a long series of court […]

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    Building a ’Harmonious Society’ in China

    Center for Strategic & International Studies Washington, D.C. During the past year, Chinese President Hu Jintao and the leadership of the Communist Party of China have emphasized “building a harmonious society” in the face of escalating social and economic challenges resulting from China’s rapid economic growth. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life co-hosted […]

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    From Scopes to Dover : Should the Courts Permit Public Schools to Teach Intelligent Design?

    National Press Club Washington, D.C. In late September 2005, Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District et al. went to trial in federal district court in Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs challenged the decision of the Dover School Board requiring that public schools teach that intelligent design is an alternative theory to evolution. The plaintiffs alleged […]