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Explore Pew Forum analyses—including public opinion poll reports, demographic reports, research studies, legal reports and graphics—on an array of topics and issues at the intersection of religion and public life.

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ANALYSIS March 27, 2007
Strange Bedfellows: Why Are Some Religious Groups Defending 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus'?
by David Masci, Senior Research Fellow, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life March 27, 2007 A recent Supreme Court case involving the free speech rights of students is producing some very unusual alliances. Christian conservative groups, such a...
ANALYSIS March 21, 2007
Nigeria's Presidential Election: The Christian-Muslim Divide
by Robert Ruby and Timothy Samuel Shah, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life March 21, 2007 A Muslim man walks past a church gate in Lagos, Nigeria. (AP Images) If Nigeria's presidential election takes place as scheduled on April 21, it will ma...
ANALYSIS December 12, 2006
The "Christmas Wars": Holiday Displays and the Federal Courts
December 12, 2006 For more information about the Christmas wars, see the recent transcript The Christmas Wars: Religion in the American Public Square. Download PDF version (146 KB) Heated disputes over seasonal religious displays in public spaces ...
POLL December 1, 2006
Religion and the 2006 Elections
Exit polls show that the religious divide that has come to characterize American politics persisted in the 2006 election; white evangelicals and those who attend church frequently continued to support Republicans by large margins, while secular vo...
ANALYSIS November 8, 2006
Split State Decisions on "Culture War" Issues
by Robert Ruby, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life November 8, 2006 Voters in South Dakota on Tuesday rejected what would have been the nation's most restrictive law against abortion, and Arizona became the first state to defeat a ballot init...
ANALYSIS November 1, 2006
Is There a Culture War? A Dialogue on Values and American Public Life
James Davison Hunter and Alan Wolfe Pew Forum Dialogues on Religion & Public Life E.J. Dionne Jr. and Michael Cromartie, Series Editors Executive Summary (.pdf) Order the book In the wake of a bitter 2004 presidential campaign and in the face ...
LEGAL REPORT November 1, 2006
The Supreme Court Revisits the Partial Birth Abortion Issue
Gonzales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood Download the full backgrounder (12-page pdf) Abortion resource page Introduction On Nov. 8, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in two cases that challenge the constitutionality o...
POLL July 6, 2006
Do the Democrats Have a 'God Problem'?
How Public Perceptions May Spell Trouble for the Party by Gregory A. Smith, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and Peyton M. Craighill, Pew Research Center for the People & the Press In the immediate aftermath of George W. Bush's 2004 vic...
LEGAL REPORT April 6, 2006
The Supreme Court's Decision in Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita
Unanimous Court Upholds Group's Right to Use Illegal Drug in Worship Services Download the Decision Analysis Download the Legal Backgrounder On Feb. 29, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that the adherents of a small religious group can continue, for ...
POLL March 22, 2006
Prospects for Inter-Religious Understanding
Will Views Toward Muslims and Islam Follow Historical Trends? Download this analysis (164K .pdf) Although tolerance is an American ideal and freedom of religion is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, American history has oft...
LEGAL REPORT February 9, 2006
Supreme Court's Decision in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England
Unanimous Court Sends Abortion Decision Back to Lower Court Download the Decision Analysis Download the Legal Backgrounder On January 18, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a lower federal court had erred in striking down in its entirety a Ne...
LEGAL REPORT February 1, 2006
Supreme Court's Decision in Gonzales v. Oregon : High Court Rejects Federal Regulation of Physician-Assisted Suicide
Download the Decision Analysis Download the Legal Backgrounder On January 17, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that the 1970 Controlled Substances Act (CSA) does not give the U.S. attorney general the authority to prohibit Oregon doctors from prescri...
ANALYSIS December 9, 2005
100th Anniversary of Secularism in France
Dec. 9, 2005, marked the 100th anniversary of secularism in France, known as "laïcité." In 1905 the French government passed a law stipulating "the separation of churches and the state," thus enshrining secularism as a national principle.
ANALYSIS December 7, 2005
40th Anniversary of Vatican Declaration on Religious Freedom, Dignitatis Humanae
Dec. 7, 2005, marked the 40th anniversary of Dignitatis Humanae, the Second Vatican Council's declaration on religious freedom, which asserted the fundamental right of all individuals, religious communities and families to freedom of religious participation and expression. It also affirmed the duty of civil authorities to protect this right.
ANALYSIS October 19, 2005
An Uncertain Road: Muslims and the Future of Europe
Download the complete report (444k .pdf) Introduction Throughout Europe today, it is not uncommon to see women wearing headscarves and men with skull caps and beards. On many European streets, shops now sport signs in Arabic and other Near Eastern...
LEGAL REPORT September 30, 2005
Supreme Court Considers Challenge to Oregon's Death with Dignity Act: Gonzales v. Oregon and the Right to Die
Download the Legal Backgrounder Download the Decision Analysis 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 gene...
LEGAL REPORT July 27, 2005
Analysis of Ten Commandments Decisions
Download the complete analysis On June 27, 2005, the Supreme Court issued sharply divided decisions in two cases involving constitutional challenges to government-sponsored displays of the Ten Commandments. In McCreary County v. American Civil Lib...
POLL January 26, 2005
Religion & Public Life: A Faith-Based Partisan Divide
religion and politics report: religion and presidential elections
ANALYSIS November 1, 2004
Liberty and Power: A Dialogue on Religion and U.S. Foreign Policy in an Unjust World
Bryan Hehir, Michael Walzer, Charles Krauthammer, Louise Richardson, and Shibley Telhami Pew Forum Dialogues on Religion & Public Life E.J. Dionne Jr., Jean Bethke Elshtain, Kayla Drogosz, Series Editors Executive Summary (.pdf) Order the book...
LEGAL REPORT September 28, 2004
Politics and the Pulpit 2004: A Guide to the Internal Revenue Restrictions on the Political Activity of Religious Organizations
Download the complete report Note: An updated version of this report is now available as Politics and the Pulpit: 2008. During every election cycle, many religious congregations find themselves wondering what role, if any, they can play in the pol...
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