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Religious Affiliation

Individuals identify with particular religious traditions for theological, doctrinal, cultural or other reasons. Explore Pew Forum publications—including public opinion polls, demographic reports, research studies, event transcripts and interviews—about various faiths and their members.

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The Global Religious Landscape
A country-by-country analysis of data from more than 2,500 censuses, surveys and population registers finds that 84% of adults and children around the globe are religiously affiliated. The study also finds that the median age of two major groups – Muslims (23 years) and Hindus (26) – is younger than the world’s overall population (28), while Jews have the highest median age (36).

 

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ANALYSIS November 21, 2011
Lobbying for the Faithful
A new report gives a brief history of organized religious advocacy in Washington, D.C., and examines the major characteristics of religion-related advocacy. A related online directory includes profiles of 216 groups currently or recently active in the nation’s capital.
October 25, 2011
Resources on Mormonism and the LDS Church in America
How do Americans view the Mormon faith and its followers? What is the public’s perception of a Mormon candidate? Explore the Pew Research Center’s resources on Mormonism and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
POLL August 30, 2011
Muslim Americans: No Signs of Growth in Alienation or Support for Extremism
As the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, a comprehensive public opinion survey by the Pew Research Center finds no indication of increased alienation or anger among Muslim Americans in response to growing concerns about home-grown Islamic terrorists, controversies about the building of mosques and other pressures on this high-profile minority group in recent years. Nor does the new polling provide any evidence of rising support for Islamic extremism among Muslim Americans.
GRAPHIC April 28, 2011
National Day of Prayer
A federal appeals court recently overturned a lower court ruling that had declared the National Day of Prayer to be unconstitutional. The day of prayer, established by Congress in 1952, occurs annually on the first Thursday in May, which this year falls on May 5.
ANALYSIS February 24, 2011
Religion in the News: Islam Was No. 1 Topic in 2010
 Events and controversies related to Islam dominated U.S. press coverage of religion in 2010, bumping the Catholic Church from the top spot, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
ANALYSIS January 27, 2011
The Future of the Global Muslim Population
A new Pew Forum report on the size, distribution and growth of the global Muslim population finds that the world’s Muslim population is expected to increase by about 35% in the next 20 years, but it is expected to grow at a slower pace in the next two decades than it did in the previous two decades.
EVENT TRANSCRIPT January 27, 2011
New Pew Forum Report Projects Growth of Global Muslim Population to 2030
In a conference call for journalists, Pew Forum staff members discussed the findings in a new report, The Future of the Global Muslim Population.  
ANALYSIS January 5, 2011
Faith on the Hill
The political overhaul of the U.S. Congress after the 2010 elections appears to have had little effect on the religious composition of the legislative body, which is similar to the religious makeup of the previous Congress and of the nation, according to an analysis by the Pew Forum.
EVENT TRANSCRIPT October 12, 2010
Can Civilization Survive Without God?
The Pew Forum invited brothers Christopher and Peter Hitchens to address the question of whether civilization needs God.
GRAPHIC October 7, 2010
Hispanic Protestants Closely Divided Heading Into 2010 Elections; Hispanic Catholics Favor Democrats
A new survey by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, shows that Hispanic registered voters currently support Democratic candidates by a three-to-one margin in the upcoming midterm elections (65% vs. 22%). The survey data show, however, that there is a sharp divide between Hispanics who identify their religion as Catholic and those who identify as Protestant.
POLL August 24, 2010
Public Remains Conflicted Over Islam
The public continues to express conflicted views of Islam. Favorable opinions of Islam have declined since 2005, but there has been virtually no change over the past year in the proportion of Americans saying that Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence. As was the case a year ago, slightly more people say the Islamic religion does not encourage violence more than other religions (42%) than say that it does (35%).
POLL August 18, 2010
Growing Number of Americans Say Obama is a Muslim
A substantial and growing number of Americans say that Barack Obama is a Muslim, while the proportion saying he is a Christian has declined. More than a year and a half into his presidency, a plurality of the public says they do not know what religion Obama follows.
ANALYSIS June 11, 2010
The Pope Meets the Press: Media Coverage of the Clergy Abuse Scandal
Newspaper coverage of the Catholic clergy sexual abuse scandal grew more intense this spring than at any time since 2002, and European newspapers devoted even more ink to the story than American papers did, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center.
EVENT TRANSCRIPT April 27, 2010
A Conversation With Tariq Ramadan
European campaigns to ban burqas, the Swiss vote to bar new construction of minarets and attempted terrorist acts in the United States have renewed questions and concerns about the compatibility of Islam with Western society. Swiss-born scholar and philosopher of Islam Tariq Ramadan has written and spoken on the subject, generating widespread debate and reaction.
POLL April 7, 2010
Broad Criticism of Pope Benedict's Handling of Sex Abuse Scandal
Amid new revelations of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI's job ratings for handling the scandal have plummeted, according to a Pew Research Center survey.
LEGAL REPORT April 6, 2010
In Brief: Christian Legal Society v. Martinez
On April 19, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, a case that will determine whether a public institution can refuse to officially recognize a religiously based organization that prevents those who do not share its religious and moral values from becoming voting members.
ANALYSIS March 25, 2010
Religion in the News: 2009
Pope Benedict XVI and the Obama administration generated the most religion-related coverage in the U.S. press in 2009. The pope, though he made no visits to the United States last year, was the subject of two of the top 10 religion stories, while the Obama administration accounted for three of the top 10 religion-focused storylines during the year.
POLL February 17, 2010
Religion Among the Millennials
By some key measures, Americans ages 18 to 29 are considerably less religious than older Americans. Yet in other ways, Millennials remain fairly traditional in their religious beliefs and practices.
ANALYSIS December 17, 2009
Little Support for Terrorism Among Muslim Americans
Recent events such as the Fort Hood shootings and the arrest of five Muslim American students in Pakistan have raised questions about the threat of homegrown terrorism in the U.S.  
EVENT TRANSCRIPT December 17, 2009
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."
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