Science

coronavirus (covid 19)Feb 12, 2025

Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults (72%) say the COVID-19 pandemic did more to drive the country apart than to bring it together.

short readMar 7, 2025

Customers with beers at McSorley's Old Ale House in New York in February 2024. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

reportDec 9, 2024

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transcriptDec 5, 2005

The Biology Wars: The Religion, Science and Education Controversy

Key West, Florida Some of the nation’s leading journalists gathered in Key West, Florida, in December 2005 for the Pew Forum’s biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. Conference speaker Edward J. Larson, Talmadge Chair of Law and Russell Professor of American History at the University of Georgia, discussed the history of […]
fact sheetSep 30, 2005

Supreme Court Considers Challenge to Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act: Gonzales v. Oregon and the Right to Die

On October 5, 2005, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Gonzales v. Oregon, a case arising from the conflict between Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act and the U.S. attorney general’s interpretation of the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Oregon’s law, which was twice approved by the state’s voters, permits physicians to prescribe […]
transcriptSep 29, 2005

The Right to Assisted Suicide?: Oregon Goes to the Supreme Court

Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. Oregon has twice, by ballot initiative, adopted a measure allowing for physician-assisted suicide. The measure, known as the “Death With Dignity Act,” raises serious moral and ethical questions, and was challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice. The Department contended that it had the right to invalidate the law, […]
fact sheetSep 22, 2005

From Darwin to Dover: An Overview of Important Cases in the Evolution Debate

Almost 150 years after Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking theory on the origins of life, Americans are still fighting over evolution. If anything, the controversy is growing in both size and intensity. Recent polls indicate that challenges to Darwinian evolution have substantial support among the American people. According to a July 2005 survey sponsored by […]
reportSep 15, 2005

Economic Pessimism Grows, Gas Prices Pinch

Summary of Findings A summer’s worth of bad news, culminating with Hurricane Katrina, has taken a toll on the public’s mood, particularly when it comes to views of the economy and energy costs. The public’s economic expectations, while hardly robust in the spring, have grown much more negative. Nearly four-in-ten (37%) think economic conditions will […]
reportAug 30, 2005

Public Divided on Origins of Life

Religion A Strength And Weakness For Both Parties Navigate this Report Executive Summary Contrasting Party Images: The Political Parties and Religion Evolution & Creationism Religion & Politics Promoting Democracy Support for Israel Religion & Mideast Views Faith-Based Aid Gays in the Military Other Issues Executive Summary Both major political parties have a problem with their […]
reportAug 22, 2005

Dr. Mom Goes Online

Many parents go online to get information about their kids’ upcoming surgical procedures.
reportAug 3, 2005

Abortion and Rights of Terror Suspects Top Court Issues

Summary of Findings Abortion has dominated the early skirmishing over President Bush’s nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court. But the public takes a more expansive view of the court’s agenda. Indeed, about as many Americans rate the rights of detained terrorist suspects as a very important issue for the Supreme Court as say […]
reportAug 3, 2005

About the Survey

Results for this report are based on two separate telephone surveys conducted under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International. The first survey is among a nationwide sample of 1,502 adults, 18 years of age or older, from July 13-17, 2005. For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence […]
reportJun 16, 2005

Informed Patients

Millions of Americans will welcome new access to industrial-strength health information — but they’ll miss the articles from one major journal.

Signature Reports

reportMar 17, 2022

Illustration shows Vitruvian man drawing and a computer wireframe

Public views are tied to how these technologies would be used and what constraints would be in place.

reportSep 29, 2020

Majorities across 20 publics say government investments in scientific research are worthwhile and express a lot or some confidence in scientists to do what is right for the public.

reportMar 1, 2022

A photo that shows Orlando Utility Commission's Stanton Solar Farm outside Orlando, Florida, in September 2021. In the distance is the utility's Stanton Energy Center, powered by coal and natural gas.

Majorities of Americans say the United States should prioritize the development of renewable energy sources and take steps toward the country becoming carbon neutral by the year 2050. But just 31% want to phase out fossil fuels completely, and many foresee unexpected problems in a major transition to renewable energy.

reportDec 10, 2020

Image shows an employee observes DNA sequencing at the functional genomics laboratory of the Bochkov Research Center for Medical Genetics in Moscow. (Ivan Yudin/TASS via Getty Images)

Majorities say scientific research on gene editing is a misuse – rather than an appropriate use – of technology. But public acceptance of gene editing for babies depends on how it will be used, and views often differ by age and religion.