Most U.S. Catholics Say They Want the Church To Be ‘More Inclusive’
Majorities want the church to allow use of birth control and IVF, and to permit priests to bless same-sex couples. But views differ by Mass attendance.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Religion & Abortion
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Religious Landscape Study: Database
The Religious Landscape Study is a comprehensive survey of more than 35,000 Americans’ religious identities, beliefs and practices that’s been conducted in 2007, 2014 and 2023-24. Pew Research Center.
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Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off
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.
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Support for legal abortion is widespread in many places, especially in Europe
Majorities in most of the 27 places around the world surveyed in 2023 and 2024 say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
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Public Opinion on Abortion
Abortion has long been a contentious issue in the United States, and it is one that sharply divides Americans along partisan, ideological and religious lines.
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India’s Sex Ratio at Birth Begins To Normalize
India’s artificially wide ratio of baby boys to baby girls – which arose in the 1970s from the use of prenatal diagnostic technology to facilitate sex-selective abortions – now appears to be narrowing. Son bias has declined sharply among Sikhs, while Christians continue to have a natural balance of sons and daughters.
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Key facts about the abortion debate in America
As the nation’s post-Roe chapter begins and the legal battle shifts to the states, here are key facts about Americans’ views on abortion.
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Majority of Public Disapproves of Supreme Court’s Decision To Overturn Roe v. Wade
Opinion on the legality of abortion has changed little since before the court’s decision, with 62% now saying abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
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Like Americans overall, Catholics vary in their abortion views, with regular Mass attenders most opposed
About three-quarters of U.S. Catholics (76%) say abortion should be illegal in some cases but legal in others.
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America’s Abortion Quandary
A majority of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, but many are open to restrictions; many opponents of legal abortion say it should be legal in some circumstances.
