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Analyses

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 May 31, 2013
Among Muslims, Internet Use Goes Hand-in-Hand With More Open Views Toward Western Culture
A new Pew Research analysis finds that Muslims around the world who use the internet are much more likely than other Muslims to have a favorable opinion of Western movies, music and television and are somewhat more likely to see similarities between Islam and Christianity.
ANALYSIS April 23, 2013
Concerns About Religious Extremism in Boston Bombings Suspects' Homelands
A new Pew Research Center survey finds high levels of concern about religious extremism among Muslims living in the North Caucasus area of Russia and the neighboring Central Asian countries of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. It also finds that most Muslims in the region reject violence against civilians.
ANALYSIS March 5, 2013
During Benedict’s Papacy, Religious Observance Among Catholics in Europe Remained Low but Stable
When Benedict XVI was elected pope in 2005, religious observance among Europeans had been in decline for decades, and he set out to stem the tide of secularization. How successful was he? Pew Research polls indicate that during his papacy, religious observance among Catholics in France, Germany, Spain and Italy remained low but fairly stable.
ANALYSIS February 13, 2013
The Global Catholic Population
Over the past century, the number of Catholics worldwide has more than tripled. But the world’s overall population also has risen rapidly from 1910 to 2010. As a result, Catholics have made up a remarkably stable share of all people on Earth, though their geographic distribution has changed substantially.
ANALYSIS February 8, 2013
Gay Marriage Around the World
Updated May 20, 2013. A fact sheet provides an overview of the situation in the nations where same-sex marriage is legal nationwide as well as countries that allow it in certain jurisdictions.
ANALYSIS December 18, 2012
The Global Religious Landscape
A country-by-country analysis of data from more than 2,500 censuses, surveys and population registers finds that 84% of adults and children around the globe are religiously affiliated. The study also finds that the median age of two major groups – Muslims (23 years) and Hindus (26) – is younger than the world’s overall population (28), while Jews have the highest median age (36).
ANALYSIS November 21, 2012
Laws Penalizing Blasphemy, Apostasy and Defamation of Religion are Widespread
On Nov. 20, a Pakistani court ordered blasphemy charges dropped against a Christian teenager who had been accused of burning pages from the Quran. A new Pew Forum analysis finds that as of 2011 nearly half the countries and territories in the world have laws against blasphemy, apostasy or defamation. 
ANALYSIS September 20, 2012
Rising Tide of Restrictions on Religion
Between mid-2009 and mid-2010, religious restrictions rose not only in countries that began the year with high or very high restrictions, such as Indonesia and Nigeria, but also in many countries that began with low or moderate restrictions, such as Switzerland and the United States. The report looks at restrictions due to government actions as well as acts of violence and intimidation by private individuals, organizations and social groups. 
ANALYSIS March 8, 2012
Faith on the Move
This study focuses on the religious affiliation of international migrants, examining patterns of migration among seven major groups: Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, adherents of other religions and the religiously unaffiliated.
ANALYSIS February 23, 2012
Religion in the News: Islam and Politics Dominate Religion Coverage in 2011
The biggest religion stories of 2011 involved tensions over Islam and questions about faith in presidential politics, especially Mormonism, according to an annual review of religion in the news.
ANALYSIS December 19, 2011
Global Christianity
A comprehensive demographic study finds that there are 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world, representing nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of 6.9 billion. Christians are also geographically widespread, and no single region can indisputably claim to be the center of global Christianity.
ANALYSIS January 27, 2011
The Future of the Global Muslim Population
A new Pew Forum report on the size, distribution and growth of the global Muslim population finds that the world’s Muslim population is expected to increase by about 35% in the next 20 years, but it is expected to grow at a slower pace in the next two decades than it did in the previous two decades.
ANALYSIS November 4, 2010
Indonesia’s Place Along the Spectrum of Global Religious Restriction
This analysis draws upon testimony on U.S. International Religious Freedom Policy: the Outlook for 2010, before the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight, Feb. 3, 2010.
ANALYSIS September 15, 2010
Muslim Networks and Movements in Western Europe
To help provide a better understanding of how Muslim movements and networks seek to influence the views and daily lives of Muslims in Western Europe, the Pew Forum has produced profiles of some of the oldest, largest and most influential groups – from the Muslim Brotherhood to mystical Sufi orders and networks of religious scholars.
ANALYSIS June 11, 2010
The Pope Meets the Press: Media Coverage of the Clergy Abuse Scandal
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.
ANALYSIS December 17, 2009
Little Support for Terrorism Among Muslim Americans
Recent events such as the Fort Hood shootings and the arrest of five Muslim American students in Pakistan have raised questions about the threat of homegrown terrorism in the U.S.  
ANALYSIS December 17, 2009
Global Restrictions on Religion
This report gauges the level of religious restrictions in 198 countries due both to government actions and to acts of violence and intimidation by private individuals, organizations and social groups.
ANALYSIS October 7, 2009
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.
ANALYSIS December 11, 2008
Being Good for Goodness' Sake?
A 2007 survey by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project found that a majority of Americans say it is necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values.
ANALYSIS September 30, 2008
Abortion Laws Around the World
Abortion is as controversial abroad as it is in the United States. Many governments struggle to strike a balance between the rights of pregnant women and the rights of unborn fetuses.
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