Discrimination and Prejudice

It may surprise anyone who has been following the charges of racism that have flared up during the debate over President Obama's health care proposals, but the American public doesn't see race as the source of the strongest social conflict in the country today.

Eight years after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Americans see Muslims as facing more discrimination inside the U.S. than other major religious groups. Nearly six-in-ten adults (58%) say that Muslims are subject to a lot of discrimination, far more than say the same about Jews, evangelical Christians, atheists or Mormons. In fact, of all the […]

The public has generally been supportive of affirmative action programs, but is decidedly opposed to the idea of providing preferential treatment to minorities.

Latinos' confidence in the U.S. criminal justice system is closer to the relatively low levels expressed by blacks than to the higher levels expressed by whites.

Overview As Barack Obama prepares to take office, majorities say the country is losing ground on any number of key issues, particularly economic ones. Nearly eight-in-ten (79%) say the country is falling further behind on the federal budget deficit, far more than said that during the mid-1990s when the deficit was a top-tier policy issue. […]

Some of the nation’s leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in December 2008 for the Pew Forum’s biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. Eddie S.Glaude Jr., author of In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America, discussed religion and race in America. Specifically, he described historical […]

(from The National Interest)

Half (50%) of all Latinos say that the situation of Latinos in this country is worse now than it was a year ago.

Growing numbers of people in several major European countries say they have an unfavorable opinion of Jews, and opinions of Muslims also are more negative than they were several years ago. These findings are from a new Pew Global Attitudes Project report, based on data gathered from 24 countries from regions throughout the world, that examine worldwide religiosity and take a close look at Muslim publics’ attitudes toward terrorism, Osama bin Laden, Hamas, Hezbollah and more.

Summary of Findings A solid majority of Americans say it as at least somewhat important to the country that an African American has won the presidential nomination of a major political party. But there are wide political and racial divisions over the significance of Barack Obama’s history-making achievement. Overall, 36% of the public says it […]