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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  
Sikh-Americans and Religious Liberty
With their distinctive appearance and religious practices, Sikh-Americans often find themselves at the center of workplace discrimination cases and other controversies involving their religious rights. To better understand religious liberty and accommodation issues involving Sikh-Americans, the Pew Forum turns to church-state scholar Robert W. Tuttle.
Faith Healing and the Law
To explore the legal issues that courts must consider in cases involving parents' use of faith healing, the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life turns to church-state scholar Robert W. Tuttle.
Ten Years of Promoting Religious Freedom Through U.S. Foreign Policy
Oct. 27 marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the International Religious Freedom Act, a law that made the promotion of religious freedom a basic aim of U.S. foreign policy.
The Case For Embryonic Stem Cell Research: An Interview with Jonathan Moreno
University of Pennsylvania professor Jonathan Moreno discusses the ethical and moral grounds for supporting embryonic stem cell research.
The Case Against Embryonic Stem Cell Research: An Interview with Yuval Levin
Yuval Levin, author of Tyranny of Reason and Hertog Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, discusses the ethical and moral grounds for opposing embryonic stem cell research.
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.
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...
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.
John Green Addresses Religious Dynamic in Stem Cell Politics
John Green discusses how values and morality, grounded in religious belief, have shaped the politics of the stem cell research debate.
Timothy Samuel Shah Explains 'Why God is Winning'
Tim Shah explains "Why God is Winning" after religion was supposed to fade away as globalization and freedom spread. Instead, it is booming, and often deciding who gets elected.
Federal Court Sends Back Georgia Evolution Sticker Case
The Pew Forum's legal expert David Masci explains the impact of the latest legal ruling in the battle over teaching evolution in American public schools.
Anti-Semitism and Anti-Americanism
In his new book, Überpower: The Imperial Temptation of America, Josef Joffe offers an analysis of the danger and burden of America's standing as a singular global power. He also investigates the similarities between classical anti-Semitism an...
The New Face of Global Christianity: The Emergence of 'Progressive Pentecostalism'
The Pew Forum interviewed Dr. Donald Miller of the University of Southern California in conjunction with a roundtable on pentecostalism it co-sponsored with the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles, Calif. Dr. Miller discussed th...