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Beliefs & Practices

Examination of religious beliefs and practices provides insight into religion’s influence on individuals and communities worldwide. Explore Pew Forum publications—including public opinion polls, demographic reports, research studies, event transcripts and interviews—about religious beliefs and practices:

 

Belief in God Importance of Religion Other Beliefs & Practices
Frequency of Prayer Religious Attendance  
Mormons and Civic Life
 With a Mormon candidate in the race for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, there has been intense media, academic and public interest in Mormons and their religion. The Pew Forum recently held a roundtable discussion with journalists, scholars and policy experts on some of the latest research on Mormons and their place in American society and public life. 
American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
The Pew Forum held a press luncheon with political science professors David Campbell and John Green on the topic of how religion both divides and unites Americans.
Can Civilization Survive Without God?
The Pew Forum invited brothers Christopher and Peter Hitchens to address the question of whether civilization needs God.
U.S. Religious Knowledge: An Overview of the Pew Forum Survey, Results and Implications
The Pew Forum’s Alan Cooperman and Greg Smith, along with Boston University professor and author Stephen Prothero and Krista Tippett of American Public Media, explore key findings from a new Pew Forum survey on how much Americans know about religion as part of a panel discussion at a national symposium on religious literacy in Washington, D.C.
Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa
The Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life held a conference call with journalists to discuss the findings of a new 19-country survey, "Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa."
Global Restrictions on Religion
More than half a century ago, the United Nations affirmed the principle of religious freedom in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, defining it as "the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion."
The Future of Evangelicals: A Conversation with Pastor Rick Warren
The evangelical Christian movement historically has been defined by its members' distinctive doctrinal standards and practices. Yet in recent years many Americans have come to understand evangelicals more by their political, rather than religious, identity. 
Faith in Flux: Changes in Religious Affiliation in the U.S.
The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life held a conference call with journalists to discuss the release of a new Pew Forum survey that documents the fluidity of religious affiliation in the U.S. and describes the patterns and major reasons for change. 
U.S. Religious Landscape Survey Report II
In a noon conference call for journalists, Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, together with fellows John Green and Greg Smith, released the second report of the Forum's path-breaking U.S. Religious Landscape Survey...
American Evangelicalism: New Leaders, New Faces, New Issues
Some of the nation's leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in May 2008 for the Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life.
The Pope Comes to America
Pope Benedict XVI's first visit to the U.S. as pontiff comes amid a turbulent election year. He has planned stops at the White House, the U.N. and the Sept. 11 "Ground Zero" site.
Between Relativism and Fundamentalism: Is There a Middle Ground?
Peter Berger, an eminent sociologist of religion and a lifelong Lutheran, asked himself several years ago: "Would my moral convictions change if I woke up tomorrow as an atheist?"
The Religion Factor in the 2008 Election
Video Highlights Watch more event videos on the multimedia page. Some of the nation's leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in December 2007 for the Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life.John ...
Religious Literacy: What Every American Should Know
Some of the nation's leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in December 2007 for the Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life.
Mormonism and Politics: Are They Compatible?
Richard Bushman, an emeritus professor at Columbia University and author of several books about Mormon history, discussed the relationship between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and American politics over the past two centuries.
Changing Faiths: Latinos and the Transformation of American Religion
In a telephone conference call for journalists, the directors of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Pew Hispanic Center discussed the findings of an unprecedented survey  on how Latinos are transforming the religious landscape in the U.S. Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Pew Hispanic Center discussed the findings of an unprecedented survey on how Latinos are transforming the religious landscape in the U.S.
Understanding Religion's Role in the 2006 Election
Some of the nation's leading journalists and distinguished scholars gathered in Key West, Fla., in December 2006 for the Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. To help journalists better understand the r...
Religion in a Globalizing World
Some of the nation's leading journalists and distinguished scholars gathered in Key West, Fla., in December 2006 for the Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. Peter Berger, professor emeritus of religio...
In Pursuit of Values Voters
With the November mid-term elections approaching, the Pew Forum convened a roundtable discussion with three respected observers of religion and party politics. Joining the conversation was Amy Sullivan, a former aide to former Senator Tom Daschle ...
Spirit and Power Press Conference
The Pew Forum held a telephone news conference with reporters across the country to discuss key findings from a new international poll, Spirit and Power: A 10-Country Survey of Pentecostals.
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