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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.

 
Hiring Law for Groups Following a Higher Law: Faith-Based Hiring and the Obama Administration
The Bush administration contended that religious groups always have the right to hire on the basis of religion. But President Obama has suggested that he disagrees with this policy. To explore how the Obama administration might alter Bush’s policy, the Pew Forum turns to church-state scholar Ira “Chip” Lupu.
Will Obama Win the White Catholic Vote?
Surveys by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press show that white, non-Hispanic Catholic support for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has grown, taking him from a 13-percentage-point deficit in late September to an 8-point lead in late October.
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.
Candidate Preferences of Religious Voters Similar to 2004, But Economy a Higher Priority
A recently published national survey finds remarkable stability in the candidate preferences of major religious groups when compared with those at a similar stage in the 2004 campaign.
John DiIulio Previews How Faith-Based Initiatives Would Change if Barack Obama Is Elected President
To discuss how Obama might implement his faith-based and community initiatives, the Pew Forum posed a series of questions to John J. DiIulio Jr., who has worked closely with this issue.
Stephen Goldsmith Previews How Faith-Based Initiatives Would Change if John McCain Is Elected President
To discuss how McCain might implement his faith-based and community initiatives, the Pew Forum posed a series of questions to Stephen Goldsmith, who has worked closely with this issue.
Pastors To Protest IRS Rules on Political Advocacy
On Sept. 28, pastors from 20 states will give politically based sermons from the pulpit as part of a protest organized by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal-advocacy group. The protest will challenge an Internal Revenue Code restriction that limits the political activities of charitable organizations
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.
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.
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.
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.
Does McCain Need Evangelical Voters?
Pew Forum Senior Fellow John Green looks at the importance of the evangelical vote for the McCain campaign, the impact of Mitt Romney's withdrawal on the race for the Republican nomination and the challenges posed by religious constituencies for the remaining Republican and Democratic candidates.
Personal Faith and Candidate Image in the 2008 Campaign
Pew Forum Senior Fellow John Green answered questions about the history of faith in presidential politics, campaign efforts to religiously define candidates and how the faith factor might impact Super Tuesday.
Will Evangelical Voters Rally Around a Single Candidate in 2008?
With several primary contests completed and Super Tuesday fast approaching, Forum Associate Director Mark O'Keefe and Senior Research Fellow John Green discussed the vote of evangelical Christians in the 2008 presidential election. Green and O'Keefe...
Looking for a Way Out: Rethinking the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Few Palestinian families have deeper roots in Jerusalem than Sari Nusseibeh's. In the 7th century, immediately after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem, the caliph Omar the Great entrusted one of Nusseibeh's ancestors with the key to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
A Christian Right Without Falwell
When he died May 15, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority, left a legacy as one of the innovative early leaders of a movement that brought evangelicals and other Christians into politics.
The Vatican and Islam: Pope Benedict XVI Prepares to Visit Turkey
Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to visit Turkey on Nov. 28-30, a trip that has already attracted exceptionally close attention because of the pope's remarks about Islam during a September speech in Regensburg, Germany. More than 50 Islamic nations ...
Five Years After 9/11, 'Dialogue' with Islam Cause for Hope
Five years after 9/11, Pew Forum interviews Samuel Huntington on his groundbreaking book, The Clash of Civilizations.
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