POLL

Public Remains Conflicted Over Islam

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The public continues to express conflicted views of Islam. Favorable opinions of Islam have declined since 2005, but as was the case a year ago, slightly more people say the Islamic religion does not encourage violence more than other religions (42%) than say that it does (35%).

POLL

Growing Number of Americans Say Obama is a Muslim

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A new poll finds that a substantial and growing number of Americans say that Barack Obama is a Muslim, while the proportion saying he is a Christian has declined. More than a year and a half into his presidency, a plurality of the public says they do not know what religion Obama follows.

Religion & Politics 2010

ANALYSIS

Religion in the 2008 Presidential Election

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An analysis of newly released 2008 exit poll data finds that while Barack Obama succeeded in attracting a larger share of the vote from some religious groups than John Kerry did in 2004, the large gaps in the electorate that had developed along religious lines in earlier elections persisted in 2008.

LEGAL UPDATE

High Court Rules Against Campus Christian Group

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On June 28, a divided Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that a public law school can deny recognition to a student group that excludes gays and lesbians. The Court said the school could enforce a policy requiring official student organizations to accept all students who want to join.

In Brief: Christian Legal Society v. Martinez

INTERVIEW

Tensions Between Rights of Conscience and Civil Rights

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Until recently, the debate over “conscience protections” for health care workers centered largely on abortion and birth control. But in the past few years, new cases have emerged that have expanded the debate and raised questions about the tensions between individuals’ rights of conscience and the need to protect certain groups against discrimination, notably gays and lesbians.

Photo Credits

Muslim women: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
President Obama in front of flag: Bill Ingalls/Corbis
Obama speaking at a church: Brooks Kraft/Corbis
Supreme Court: Jim Pickerell/iStockPhoto
Julea Ward: Photo courtesy of Alliance Defense Fund/Gene Parunak
Stem cells: Rawlins - CMSP/Getty Images
Proposition 8 protestors: David Paul Morris/Getty Images
Pope's portrait seen at German press conference: TIMM SCHAMBERGER/AFP/Getty Images
Islam and Christianity: Sebastien Desarmaux/GODONG/Godong/Corbis

LEGAL UPDATE

U.S. District Court Blocks Federal Funding of Stem Cell Research

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On Aug. 23, a federal district court judge in Washington, D.C., blocked the U.S. government from funding human embryonic stem cell research, saying it violates a 1996 law that prohibits spending federal funds on research that destroys embryos. A 2008 Pew Forum research package provides an overview of the stem cell research debate, including the science behind the research and religious groups' views on the issue.

See also:

LEGAL UPDATE

Federal Court Strikes Down Calif. Same-Sex Marriage Ban

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On Aug. 4, a federal district court judge struck down California’s ban on gay marriage, ruling that the prohibition violates the U.S. Constitution. The decision, which is expected to be appealed, represents the first time a federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Constitution protects the right of same-sex couples to marry.


ANALYSIS

The Pope Meets the Press: Media Coverage of the Clergy Abuse Scandal

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Newspaper coverage of the Catholic clergy sexual abuse scandal grew more intense this spring than at any time since 2002, and European newspapers devoted even more ink to the story than American papers did, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center.

Pew Forum Resources on Catholicism and the Pope

TOLERANCE AND TENSION

Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa

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This report and interactive database are supported by generous grants from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation as part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, which aims to increase people's knowledge of religion around the world.

A new 19-country survey by the Pew Forum reveals that the vast majority of people in many sub-Saharan African nations are deeply committed to Christianity or Islam, and yet many continue to practice elements of traditional African religions. And while many Muslims and Christians describe members of the other faith as tolerant and honest, there are clear signs of tensions and divisions between the faiths.

See also:

MORE HIGHLIGHTS

RESOURCES

The Forum Multimedia Page

Video and audio of Pew Forum events are now conveniently archived in one location. The multimedia page contains full video transcripts and short highlight clips of recent events, as well as audio of Forum experts' radio appearances.

EVENT TRANSCRIPT

A Conversation With Tariq Ramadan

European campaigns to ban burqas, the Swiss vote to bar new construction of minarets and attempted terrorist acts in the United States have renewed questions and concerns about the compatibility of Islam with Western society. Swiss-born scholar and philosopher of Islam Tariq Ramadan has written and spoken on the subject, generating widespread debate and reaction. 
LEGAL UPDATE

High Court Decision in Salazar v. Buono

On April 28, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Salazar v. Buono to overturn a lower court ruling that had ordered the removal of a cross from a World War I memorial located in California’s Mojave National Preserve.