As Iranians prepare to elect a new president on June 14, a Pew Research survey shows that just 40% think religious figures should play a large role in politics, while a quarter say religious figures should have some influence, and three-in-ten believe they should have little or no influence. But an overwhelming majority of Iranians say they back the use of Islamic law.

The Pew Research Center study on “The World’s Muslims” has generated a great deal of domestic and international attention. We have received many emails from readers and are grateful for the interest and feedback. Here are answers to some of the most common questions we have been receiving.

A new survey report looks at attitudes among Muslims in 39 countries on a wide range of topics, from science to sharia, polygamy to popular culture. The survey finds that overwhelming percentages of Muslims in many countries want Islamic law to be the official law of their land, but there is also widespread support for democracy and religious freedom. 

The world’s Muslims are united in their belief in God and the Prophet Muhammad and are bound together by such religious practices as fasting during Ramadan and almsgiving to assist the needy. But they have widely differing views about other aspects of their faith, including how important religion is to their lives, who counts as a Muslim and what practices are acceptable in Islam.

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.

The Pew Research Center conducted more than 55,000 interviews to obtain a national sample of 1,050 Muslims living in the United States.

Download this Fact Sheet (388K .pdf) Recent surveys by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life demonstrate that American evangelical Protestants have distinctive — and highly positive — attitudes towards the state of Israel. This g...

Religion is a critical factor these days in the public's thinking about contentious policy issues and political matters.