pewforum.org Publications

Publications

Explore Pew Forum publications—including public opinion polls, demographic reports, research studies, event transcripts, legal reports and interviews—on an array of topics and issues at the intersection of religion and public life.

The "Zeal of the Convert": Is It the Real Deal?
A recent Pew Forum analysis finds that people who have switched faiths (or joined a faith after being raised unaffiliated with a religion) are indeed slightly more religious than those who have remained in their childhood faith.
Majority Continues To Support Civil Unions
A clear majority of Americans (57%) favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to enter into civil unions. This finding marks a slight uptick in support for civil unions and appears to continue a significant long-term trend.
Religious Groups Weigh In on Health Care Reform
As the political battles over health care reform intensify, religious organizations are forcefully adding their voices to the debate.
Mapping the Global Muslim Population
A comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries finds that there are 1.57 billion Muslims of all ages living in the world today, representing 23% of an estimated 2009 world population of 6.8 billion.
Support for Abortion Slips
Polls conducted in 2009 have found fewer Americans expressing support for abortion than in previous years. Polls conducted in 2009 have found fewer Americans expressing support for abortion than in previous years. In Pew Research Center polls in 2007 and 2008, supporters of legal abortion clearly outnumbered opponents; now Americans are evenly divided on the question.
In Brief: Salazar v. Buono
On Oct. 7, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Salazar v. Buono, a case involving a constitutional challenge to the presence of an eight-foot-tall Christian cross in the Mojave National Preserve in California. The Pew Forum provides a brief overview of the case's long path to the Supreme Court.
Muslims Widely Seen As Facing Discrimination
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.
Faith Healing and the Law
To explore the legal issues that courts must consider in cases involving parents' use of faith healing, the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life turns to church-state scholar Robert W. Tuttle.
President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
This report provides a closer look at President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, established to make recommendations on how to improve government partnerships with faith-based and community organizations.
Media Coverage of the Faith-Based Initiative in the First Six Months of 2001 and 2009
A new study finds that Obama's faith-based initiative has so far generated little of the contentious press coverage associated with Bush's effort. And the program is not as closely associated with the current president as it was with the man he succeeded.
A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.
This report, based on data from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, explores Mormons' unique place in the American religious landscape and is divided into three parts: demographic characteristics, religious beliefs and practices, and social and political views.
A Contentious Debate: Same-Sex Marriage in the U.S.
In the last five years, the debate over gay marriage has been heard in the halls of the U.S. Congress, at the White House, in dozens of state legislatures and courtrooms, and in the rhetoric of election campaigns at both the national and state levels.
The Constitutional Dimensions of the Same-Sex Marriage Debate
While the gay marriage controversy has many elements, including disagreements over religious and social norms, much of the debate is a legal one.  
Public Opinion on Gay Marriage: Opponents Consistently Outnumber Supporters
Based on an April 2009 poll, this report includes a discussion of public opinion on gay marriage, same-sex unions and adoption by same-sex couples.
Gay Marriage Around the World
In many countries around the globe, the institution of marriage is in flux as governments consider whether to allow gay and lesbian couples the right to marry or enter into other legally recognized forms of domestic partnership. Currently, countries around the world, mostly in Europe, offer varying levels of marriage rights to gay couples.
State Policies on Same-Sex Marriage
This graphic illustrates the states with constitutional amendments banning gay marriage as well as states where gay marriage is legal. 
About One-in-Six Americans Are Baptist
The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, finds that Baptists represent the largest Protestant denominational family in the U.S., making up about one-sixth (17.2%) of the total U.S. adult population.
Most Latino Evangelicals Pray Every Day
The Pew Forum's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey finds that Hispanic evangelicals, like other evangelicals, are more likely to pray every day than the population overall. Hispanic evangelicals are also more likely to pray daily than Hispanics who belong to other major religious groups.
Government Partnerships With Faith-Based Organizations: Looking Back, Moving Forward
The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, established by President Barack Obama, plans to expand partnerships between the government and faith-based and community organizations for the delivery of social services.
Brides, Grooms Often Have Different Faiths
Data from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life in 2007, shows that many marriages are between people of different religious faiths.
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