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Religion & Politics 2012

Religion & Politics 2012 includes news, analysis and data on the role of religion in politics, social issues, candidates and political parties relevant to the 2011-12 primary and general election cycle.

 
TEDx: Religious Freedom by the Numbers
Brian J. Grim, Senior Researcher at the Pew Research Center, talks about religious freedoms and restrictions at the TEDx Viadella Conciliazione conference.
Laws Penalizing Blasphemy, Apostasy and Defamation of Religion are Widespread
On Nov. 20, a Pakistani court ordered blasphemy charges dropped against a Christian teenager who had been accused of burning pages from the Quran. A new Pew Forum analysis finds that as of 2011 nearly half the countries and territories in the world have laws against blasphemy, apostasy or defamation. 
Rising Tide of Restrictions on Religion
Between mid-2009 and mid-2010, religious restrictions rose not only in countries that began the year with high or very high restrictions, such as Indonesia and Nigeria, but also in many countries that began with low or moderate restrictions, such as Switzerland and the United States. The report looks at restrictions due to government actions as well as acts of violence and intimidation by private individuals, organizations and social groups. 
Religion in the News: Islam and Politics Dominate Religion Coverage in 2011
The biggest religion stories of 2011 involved tensions over Islam and questions about faith in presidential politics, especially Mormonism, according to an annual review of religion in the news.
Indonesia’s Place Along the Spectrum of Global Religious Restriction
This analysis draws upon testimony on U.S. International Religious Freedom Policy: the Outlook for 2010, before the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight, Feb. 3, 2010.
Briefing on U.S. International Religious Freedom Policy
Pew Forum Senior Researcher Brian J. Grim presented to the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight on the Pew Forum's findings on restrictions on religion around the world.
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."
Global Restrictions on Religion
This report gauges the level of religious restrictions in 198 countries due both to government actions and to acts of violence and intimidation by private individuals, organizations and social groups.
Religion in South Africa 15 Years After the End of Apartheid
Data from a 10-country survey of Pentecostals conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life in 2006 provides estimates of the religious affiliation of South Africa's urban population.
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.
International Religious Freedom: Religion and International Diplomacy
Has the State Department interpreted the international religious freedom policy too narrowly over the past decade by focusing on individual cases of religious persecution?
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...
Israel and the Future of Zionism
Israel and the Future of Zionism 2006-12-04 Key West, Florida Some of the nation's leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in December 2006 for the Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. Peter Berkowitz, a Hoover Institution fellow, and Ari Shavit, a
Legislating International Religious Freedom
With the passage of the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998, the United States became one of the few countries in the world to make promotion of religious freedom an explicit foreign policy goal. The act, signed into law by President Clint...
God's Country? Evangelicals and U.S. Foreign Policy
In his recent article in Foreign Affairs, Walter Russell Mead argues that as U.S. evangelicals exert increasing political influence, they are becoming a powerful force in foreign affairs. In recent years, evangelicals have voted overwhelmingly Rep...
How and Why Muhammad Made a Difference
World renowned expert on the history of Islam examines the life of Muhammad and how it shaped the history of the Muslim world.
Is There a Global Resurgence of Religion?
The World Values Survey indicates religion is not dying but it is changing.
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...
Religion and International Development
The Pew Forum interviewed Katherine Marshall following a roundtable on religion and international development co-sponsored by the Forum and the Council on Foreign Relations. Ms. Marshall is the director of the Development Dialogue on Values and Et...
Religion and International Development: A Conversation with Andrew Natsios
There is growing recognition of the increasingly important role religion plays in U.S. foreign policy, including decisions regarding development aid and humanitarian assistance. What role is religion playing in international development? How are d...
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