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Religion & Politics 2012

News, analysis and data on the role of religion in politics, social issues, candidates and political parties relevant to the 2011-12 election season.

 
The Purpose-Driven Campaign: The Candidates' Forum With Rick Warren
Given the increased discussion of faith and values in the 2008 presidential campaign, it is perhaps fitting that candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are scheduled to make their first joint appearance of the general election season at an event moderated by Pastor Rick Warren.
Targeting the Faithful
In the 2008 presidential campaign, both Democrats and Republicans have frequently spoken about the concept of faith and, in many cases, their own religious beliefs. 
McCain's Lead Among Evangelicals Smaller than Bush's in '04
Republican presidential candidate John McCain has a smaller lead among white evangelical Protestants than Republican George W. Bush had at a similar point in the 2004 campaign.
Running on Faith
Study finds media coverage of religion in primary campaign rivaled that of race and gender combined.
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...
In Brief: Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation
In Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation (2007), the U.S. Supreme Court limited the power of federal courts to enforce the Establishment Clause's restrictions on government funding of religion.
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.
The Plight of Iraq's Religious Minorities
The bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom put Iraq on its watch list of countries that violate religious freedom in 2007.
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.
Religious Voters in the 2008 Election: What It Means for Democrats, Republicans
A voter at a New Hampshire polling station. 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. William A. Galston, a senior f...
How Our Brains are Wired for Belief
Recent advances in neuroscience and brain-imaging technology have offered researchers a look into the physiology of religious experiences.
Religion and Progressive Politics in 2008
A variety of religious voices have been prominent in the 2008 presidential campaign to date, and to the surprise of many observers, these voices include religious activists with liberal and progressive perspectives.
Does Obama Have a Problem Among Catholic Voters?
Barack Obama campaigns with Caroline Kennedy and Sen. Bob Casey in Scranton, Pa. on April 20, 2008. Casey co-chairsthe Obama campaign's National Catholic Advisory Council. Barack Obama lost the Catholic vote in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary...
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...
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.
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.
An Overview of the Same-Sex Marriage Debate
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ignited a nationwide debate in late 2003 when it ruled that the state must allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. Almost overnight, same-sex marriage became a major national issue, pitting religious and social conservatives against gay-rights advocates and their allies.
The Constitutional Dimensions of the Same-Sex Marriage Debate: 2008
On Nov. 4, 2008, California voters passed Proposition 8, amending the state's constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. The vote, which was significant enough to make national headlines on a historic Election Day, was the latest round in a long battle involving the California legislature, judiciary and voters.
A Portrait of American Catholics on the Eve of Pope Benedict's Visit to the U.S.
When Pope Benedict XVI arrives in the United States on April 15, he will find a Catholic Church that is undergoing rapid ethnic and demographic changes, and whose flock is quite diverse both in their religious practices and levels of commitment, as well as in their social and political views.
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.
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