report | Feb 4, 2009

The Social and Legal Dimensions of the Evolution Debate in the U.S.

Updated February 3, 2014 As with many social and political controversies in the United States, the battle over evolution has been largely fought in courtrooms. This has been particularly true in the last 50 years, as courts have been repeatedly asked to rule on efforts to restrict or change the way public schools teach about evolution […]

report | Feb 4, 2009

Overview: The Conflict Between Religion and Evolution

Updated February 3, 2014 Almost 150 years after Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Americans are still fighting over evolution. If anything, the controversy has grown in both size and intensity. In the last decade, debates over how evolution should be taught in schools have […]

report | Feb 4, 2009

Evolution and Religion Research Package

A Pew Forum research package gives an overview of the debate, examines its social and legal dimensions and reviews the life and ideas of Charles Darwin. ANALYSIS Updated February 3, 2014 Overview: The Conflict Between Religion and Evolution Almost 150 years after Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking work On the Origin of Species by Means […]

report | Feb 4, 2009

Fighting Over Darwin, State by State

Updated February 3, 2014 The debate over whether and how to teach public school students about evolution may be an old one, but it shows no signs of abating. Indeed, in the last decade, questions about what students should learn about Darwin’s theory have been debated in more than half the states in the union […]

report | Jul 17, 2008

Stem Cells Research Package

A Pew Forum research package provides an overview of the debate over embryonic stem cell research, exploring public opinion on the issue, religious groups’ views on it, the science behind it and the status of stem cell research in other countries. ANALYSIS July 2008 Overview: Stem Cell Research at the Crossroads of Religion and Politics […]

report | Jul 17, 2008

The Science Behind Stem Cell Research

For decades, stem cells have attracted the attention of medical researchers and others because they have the capacity to develop into specialized cells that make up a variety of organ and other tissues. These so-called “building blocks of nature” can literally transform into any other type of cell in the body, making them potentially invaluable […]

report | Jul 17, 2008

Stem Cell Research at the Crossroads of Religion and Politics

Embryonic stem cell research, which uses special cells found in three- to five-day-old human embryos to seek cures for a host of chronic diseases, has sparked a major moral and political debate in the United States. In the 10 years since University of Wisconsin scientists announced they had harvested potentially life-saving cells from surplus embryos […]

report | May 5, 2008

What Brain Science Tells Us About Religious Belief

Recent advances in neuroscience are offering researchers a look into the physiology of religious belief. In a transcript from a Pew Forum event, University of Pennsylvania radiologist, Dr. Andrew Newberg, discusses how measurable brain activity matches up with the religious experiences described by worshippers.

transcript | May 5, 2008

How Our Brains are Wired for Belief

Key West, Florida Some of the nation’s leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in May 2008 for the Pew Forum’s biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. Recent advances in neuroscience and brain-imaging technology have offered researchers a look into the physiology of religious experiences. In observing Buddhist monks as they […]

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