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Explore Pew Forum publications—including public opinion polls, demographic reports, research studies, event transcripts and interviews—that focus on religion and public life in the Americas.

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The Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project

The Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project analyzes religious change and its impact on societies around the world.

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INTERVIEW July 3, 2008
Accommodating Faith in the Military
Over the past few years, there have been several controversies over religion's role in the military. Most recently, students and staff at the U.S. Naval Academy and West Point have complained...
INTERVIEW June 12, 2008
Courts Will Decide Church Property Disputes
 The Falls Church, where George Washington worshipped, is one of 11 Virginia congregations to sever ties with the Episcopal Church, which has sued for property rights.
INTERVIEW June 5, 2008
Assessing a More Prominent 'Religious Left'
For years we have been hearing about the "religious right" and its impact on American politics, but liberal and progressive religious voices are becoming increasingly prominent in media reports and at campaign stops.
INTERVIEW April 24, 2008
An Argument For Same-Sex Marriage: An Interview with Jonathan Rauch
The debate over same-sex marriage in the United States is a contentious one, and advocates on both sides continue to work hard to make their voices heard. To explore the case for gay marriage, the Pew Forum has turned to Jonathan Rauch.
INTERVIEW April 24, 2008
An Argument Against Same-Sex Marriage: An Interview with Rick Santorum
To explore the case against gay marriage, the Pew Forum has turned to Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and now a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
INTERVIEW April 17, 2008
The 'Evidence for Belief': An Interview with Francis Collins
for Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project and an evangelical Christian, scientific knowledge complements rather than contradicts belief in God.
INTERVIEW April 11, 2008
Religious Voters in the Pennsylvania Primary
Supporters of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama watch as Clinton marches in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Scranton, Pa., on March 15, 2008. Both Clinton and Obama have targeted Catholics at events around the state. The Pennsylvania primary looms...
INTERVIEW April 4, 2008
The Supreme Court Considers New Case on Capital Punishment
On April 16, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case challenging the constitutionality of a Louisiana statute that allows for the death penalty in cases involving child rape.
INTERVIEW April 4, 2008
Pope Benedict's Papacy Still Coming Into Focus for Americans
Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now PopeBenedict XVI) in 1980. While Pope Benedict is less favorably viewed than his predecessor, the majority of Americans continue to view him favorably. As Pope Benedict XVI prepares to introduce...
INTERVIEW April 3, 2008
Courting Catholics in 2008
The presidential candidates have recently intensified their efforts to woo Catholic voters, underscoring the election-year significance of this key swing constituency.
INTERVIEW March 7, 2008
Religion and the Remaining Primaries
Pew Forum Senior Fellow John Green discusses how the candidates fared among religious voters on March 4, the role that religious and unaffiliated voters could play in upcoming Democratic primaries and whether false rumors about Obama's faith could hurt his chances for the nomination.
INTERVIEW February 14, 2008
UCLA Study: Students Become More Spiritual in College
A study finds that while attendance at religious services decreased dramatically for most students between their freshman and junior years, the students' overall level of spirituality, as defined by the researchers, increases.
INTERVIEW February 8, 2008
Does McCain Need Evangelical Voters?
Pew Forum Senior Fellow John Green looks at the importance of the evangelical vote for the McCain campaign, the impact of Mitt Romney's withdrawal on the race for the Republican nomination and the challenges posed by religious constituencies for the remaining Republican and Democratic candidates.
INTERVIEW January 31, 2008
Personal Faith and Candidate Image in the 2008 Campaign
Pew Forum Senior Fellow John Green answered questions about the history of faith in presidential politics, campaign efforts to religiously define candidates and how the faith factor might impact Super Tuesday.
INTERVIEW January 24, 2008
Will Evangelical Voters Rally Around a Single Candidate in 2008?
With several primary contests completed and Super Tuesday fast approaching, Forum Associate Director Mark O'Keefe and Senior Research Fellow John Green discussed the vote of evangelical Christians in the 2008 presidential election. Green and O'Keefe...
INTERVIEW October 24, 2007
The Free Exercise Clause and the Parameters of Religious Liberty
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees that the federal government will respect the "free exercise" of religion. But the precise meaning of "free exercise" and exactly what constitutes an infringement of this right are not clear-cut.
INTERVIEW October 3, 2007
A Progressive Argument Against the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide
The debate over physician-assisted suicide is often portrayed as a battle between social or religious conservatives who oppose the practice and liberals or progressives who support it. But not everyone fits neatly into this paradigm.
INTERVIEW June 27, 2007
From the Ten Commandments to Christmas Trees: Public Religious Displays and the Courts
In recent decades, a growing number of citizens and civil liberties groups have sued towns, cities and states over religious symbols in the public square, arguing that these displays should be removed because they violate the First Amendment's prohibition on government establishment of religion.
INTERVIEW May 16, 2007
A Christian Right Without Falwell
When he died May 15, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority, left a legacy as one of the innovative early leaders of a movement that brought evangelicals and other Christians into politics.
INTERVIEW May 9, 2007
School Graduations, Religion and the Courts
Spring is the season for school graduations, and graduation ceremonies play a featured role in the national debate over the place of religion in public education. Is a clergyman's benediction at a public school event a violation of the separation of church and state?
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