Analyses

ANALYSIS February 14, 2012

Public Divided Over Birth Control Insurance Mandate

Americans who have heard about the federal rule that would require employers to provide birth control as part of their health care benefits are closely divided over whether religiously affiliated institutions should be given an exemption. Sharp divisions of opinion exist on the issue by religious affiliation, party and ideology.

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 9, 2009

Many Americans Mix Multiple Faiths

The religious beliefs and practices of Americans do not fit neatly into conventional categories. A new poll by the Pew Forum finds that large numbers of Americans engage in multiple religious practices, mixing elements of diverse traditions.

ANALYSIS October 28, 2009

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.

ANALYSIS April 9, 2009

Christians' Views on the Return of Christ

Fully 79% of Christians in the U.S. say they believe that Christ will return to Earth someday. There is less agreement among Christians, however, over the timing and circumstances of his return.

ANALYSIS April 2, 2009

Not All Nonbelievers Call Themselves Atheists

According to the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, 5% of American adults say they do not believe in God or a universal spirit, but only about a quarter (24%) of these nonbelievers actually call themselves atheists.

ANALYSIS March 12, 2009

Is a Bad Economy Good for Church Attendance?

Contrary to recent media reports suggesting that the country's economic troubles have led to higher levels of church attendance, there has been no increase in weekly worship service attendance.

ANALYSIS February 26, 2009

The Stronger Sex -- Spiritually Speaking

An analysis of data from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, finds that women are more religious than men on a variety of measures.

ANALYSIS January 30, 2009

A Religious Portrait of African-Americans

While the U.S. is generally considered a highly religious nation, African-Americans are markedly more religious on a variety of measures than the U.S. population as a whole, including level of affiliation with a religion, attendance at religious services, frequency of prayer and religion's importance in life.

ANALYSIS December 18, 2008

Many Americans Say Other Faiths Can Lead to Eternal Life

A majority of all American Christians (52%) think that at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life. Indeed, among Christians who believe many religions can lead to eternal life, 80% name at least one non-Christian faith that can do so.

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 December 4, 2008

The Importance of Pilgrimage to Muslim Americans

The Pew Research Center's 2007 Muslim American survey found that nearly two-thirds of U.S. Muslims say that taking a pilgrimage to Mecca is very important to them.

ANALYSIS November 5, 2008

How the Faithful Voted

President-elect Barack Obama made a concerted effort to reach out to people of faith during the 2008 presidential campaign, and early exit polls show that this outreach may have paid off on Election Day.

ANALYSIS October 23, 2008

How Church Attendance Affects Religious Voting Patterns

The latest report from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press shows that, as in previous elections, differences in voting patterns by religion are amplified when church attendance is taken into account

ANALYSIS September 12, 2008

Palin V.P. Nomination Puts Pentecostalism in the Spotlight

From the time she was a teenager until 2002, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin attended a church affiliated with the Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal Christian denomination in the U.S.

ANALYSIS May 1, 2008

Religion in China on the Eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympics

According to a 2006 survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, 31% of the Chinese public considers religion to be very or somewhat important in their lives, compared with only 11% who say religion is not at all important.

ANALYSIS July 6, 2007

How Muslims Compare With Other Religious Americans

Although Muslims constitute a small minority in the United States, and their holy book and many of their religious rituals are distinctly their own, Muslim Americans are by no means "the other" when it comes to religious life or politics in the United States.

ANALYSIS 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 ...

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 January 26, 2005

Religion & Public Life: A Faith-Based Partisan Divide

religion and politics report: religion and presidential elections

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