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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 November 5, 2009
An Overview of Religion and Science in the United States
Surveys repeatedly show that most Americans respect science and the benefits it brings to society, such as new technologies and medical treatments. Nevertheless, strong religious convictions can affect some Americans' willingness to accept certain scientific theories and discoveries.
ANALYSIS November 4, 2009
Religious Groups' Official Positions on Capital Punishment
Religious Groups' Official Positions on Capital Punishment in the United States.
ANALYSIS October 8, 2009
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.
ANALYSIS September 24, 2009
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.
ANALYSIS August 18, 2009
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.
ANALYSIS August 12, 2009
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.
ANALYSIS July 9, 2009
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.
ANALYSIS July 9, 2009
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.
ANALYSIS July 9, 2009
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.
ANALYSIS May 14, 2009
Catholic Opinion on Notre Dame Controversy Differs by Church Attendance
A recent survey by the Pew Forum found that about half of American Catholics have heard at least a little about the controversy over the University of Notre Dame's decision to invite President Barack Obama to speak at the university's May 17 commencement and receive an honorary degree.
ANALYSIS May 7, 2009
The Torture Debate: A Closer Look
A web graphic published April 29, 2009, by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life has generated a great deal of attention and interest. Religion is only one of many factors correlated with views on the justifiability of torture.
ANALYSIS April 29, 2009
The Religious Dimensions of the Torture Debate
An analysis by the Pew Forum of a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press illustrates differences in the views of four major religious traditions in the U.S. about whether torture of suspected terrorists can be justified.
ANALYSIS April 23, 2009
Religion in South Africa 15 Years After the End of Apartheid
Data from a 10-country survey of Pentecostals conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life in 2006 provides estimates of the religious affiliation of South Africa's urban population.
ANALYSIS April 16, 2009
Religious Groups' Views on Global Warming
An analysis by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life of a 2008 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press examines views on global warming among major religious traditions in the U.S. 
ANALYSIS March 19, 2009
Most Mainline Protestants Say Society Should Accept Homosexuality
The Pew Forum's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey finds that majorities of members two mainline Protestant denominations say that homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society.
ANALYSIS March 16, 2009
Religion in the News: 2008
This report is a special segment of A Year in the News, an analysis of the mainstream media in 2008 conducted by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. This segment of the analysis was written in collaboration with the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life.
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 March 4, 2009
Religious Groups Agree: Fixing the Nation's Economy Is Job One
While there is general agreement among religious groups that strengthening the economy should be a top policy priority for the government, people of different faiths are divided in their support for addressing other policy issues.
ANALYSIS February 4, 2009
Overview: The Conflict Between Religion and Evolution
Almost 150 years after Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Americans are still fighting over evolution.
ANALYSIS February 4, 2009
The Social and Legal Dimensions of the Evolution Debate in the U.S.
As with many social and political controversies in the United States, the battle over evolution has been largely fought in courtrooms.
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