Analyses

POLL November 7, 2007

Religious Groups' Presidential Candidate Preferences

As the races for the 2008 presidential nominations heat up, two recent surveys make it possible to examine how the candidates in both political parties are faring among a variety of religious groups.

ANALYSIS October 30, 2007

Widespread Negativity: Muslims Distrust Westerners More than Vice Versa

In 2006, the Pew Global Attitudes Project set out to explore religious tensions, examining how non-Muslims in the West and elsewhere view Muslims, as well as how Muslims think about people in western nations.

ANALYSIS October 25, 2007

Turkey and Its (Many) Discontents

Do certain actions reflect some deeper discontent among the Turkish public, or are they simply the Turkish government's response to current, and perhaps temporary, crises in the international arena?

LEGAL REPORT October 24, 2007

A Delicate Balance: The Free Exercise Clause and the Supreme Court

When Americans speak of their most cherished liberties, freedom of worship often tops the list. But this freedom is not absolute. Indeed, throughout most of the nation's history, religious practices have often been subordinated to a variety of government laws and regulations.

POLL October 15, 2007

A Portrait of Republican Social-Issue Voters

With no clear heir apparent to President Bush, and a nominating contest that remains very much in flux, many 2008 Republican presidential candidates are vying for the support of an influential segment of the primary electorate - social-issue voters.

ANALYSIS October 9, 2007

The Right-to-Die Debate and the Tenth Anniversary of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act

Ten years ago this month, Oregon enacted a law permitting physicians to prescribe a lethal dose of drugs to certain terminally ill patients, a practice often called physician-assisted suicide. The Death with Dignity Act, which took effect on Oct. 27, 1997, is the only law of its kind in the United States.

ANALYSIS September 28, 2007

Young White Evangelicals: Less Republican, Still Conservative

White evangelical Protestants have been one of the most faithful Republican constituencies in presidential elections in recent years, voting overwhelmingly for GOP candidates.

ANALYSIS September 12, 2007

A Half Century After It First Appeared on the Dollar Bill, "In God We Trust" Still Stirs Opposition

Oct. 1 marks the 50th anniversary of the appearance of "In God We Trust" on the paper currency of the United States. The phrase, which is the nation's official motto as well, has been caught in a broader debate over just how high the wall separating church and state should stand.

POLL September 6, 2007

Clinton and Giuliani Seen as Not Highly Religious; Romney's Religion Raises Concerns

So far religion is not proving to be a clear-cut positive in the 2008 presidential campaign.

ANALYSIS August 27, 2007

How the Public Resolves Conflicts Between Faith and Science

Science and religion have traditionally, and often incorrectly, been viewed as enemies. This perception has been fueled in part by a number of famous episodes in history that have pitted scientists, like Galileo and Darwin, against the prevailing religious establishments of their time.

ANALYSIS August 21, 2007

Religion and the Presidential Vote: A Tale of Two Gaps

For the presidential candidates and the pundits who write about them, one concern in the 2008 campaign is the "religion gap" - shorthand for the religious differences between Republican and Democratic voters.

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.

LEGAL REPORT June 27, 2007

Religious Displays and the Courts

Each year as the winter holidays approach, Americans across the country debate the appropriateness of the government sponsoring, or even permitting, the display of Christmas nativity scenes, Hanukkah menorahs and other religious holiday symbols on public property.

LEGAL REPORT June 13, 2007

Twenty Years After a Landmark Supreme Court Decision, Americans Are Still Fighting About Evolution

Twenty years ago, on June 19, 1987, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that dramatically reshaped the debate over teaching evolution in public schools.

LEGAL REPORT June 6, 2007

The High Court Upholds the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act

On April 18, 2007, the Supreme Court handed abortion opponents a major victory, ruling that the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act does not violate the constitutional right to abortion.

ANALYSIS May 30, 2007

A Six-Day War: Its Aftermath in American Public Opinion

For six days, beginning June 5, 1967, Israel battled Egypt, Jordan and Syria. As a result of the fighting, Israel won control of the Sinai desert, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Golan Heights.

POLL May 16, 2007

Public Views of Presidential Politics and Mormon Faith

Surveys by the Pew Research Center and other national polling organizations show strong public misgivings about the religion as well as about any presidential candidate who also belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

ANALYSIS May 16, 2007

An Evolving Debate about Evolution

The evolution controversy, traditionally a state and local issue, has vaulted into the national political arena, making a surprise appearance at the first Republican presidential candidate debate on May 3 and garnering a large amount of press attention in the days following the event.

LEGAL REPORT May 9, 2007

Religion in the Public Schools

Nearly a half-century after the Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling striking down school-sponsored prayer, Americans continue to fight over the place of religion in public schools.

ANALYSIS May 4, 2007

Can Secular Democracy Survive in Turkey?

By nominating an observant Muslim for the Turkish presidency, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan inadvertently highlighted deep-rooted tensions about the role of religion in the nation's political life.

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