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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).

 

Affiliations: 

Christian  Muslim  Unaffiliated 
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Abortion and Rights of Terror Suspects Top Court Issues
Strong Support for Stem Cell Research August 3, 2005 Download the complete report About the Survey Questionnaire Abortion has dominated the early skirmishing over President Bush's nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court. But the public tak...
Views of Muslim-Americans Hold Steady After London Bombings
Fewer Say Islam Encourages Violence July 26, 2005 Download the complete report Questionnaire Detailed Demographic Tables The July 7 terrorist bombings in London drew considerable public attention and raised fears of another attack in the United St...
American Evangelicals and Israel
Download this Fact Sheet (388K .pdf) Recent surveys by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life demonstrate that American evangelical Protestants have distinctive — and highly positive — attitudes towards the state of Israel. This g...
Religion and the 2004 Election: A Post-Election Analysis
The close 2004 presidential election produced increased polarization between and within religious communities, according to a poll conducted by The University of Akron's Bliss Institute of Applied Politics.
Religion & Public Life: A Faith-Based Partisan Divide
religion and politics report: religion and presidential elections
Religion and the Environment: Polls Show Strong Backing for Environmental Protection Across Religious Groups
October 2004 Download this Fact Sheet (76K .pdf) In contrast to abortion, gay marriage and other hot-button cultural issues, which divide most religious groups in the United States, there is a fairly strong consensus across faith traditions on env...
Religion and the 2004 Election: A Pre-Election Analysis
September 9, 2004 Correction: Two of the tables (27 and 28) from the original survey have been updated. Please download the revised version of the survey summary, as well as the full report, below. Survey summary (.pdf) Full survey report (.pdf) M...
Views of Islam Remain Sharply Divided
Plurality Sees Islam as More Likely to Encourage Violence September 9, 2004 Download complete report and questionnaire (.pdf) Despite the U.S. war in Iraq and the continuing threat of terrorism at home, public attitudes toward Islam have remained ...
GOP the Religion-Friendly Party, But Stem Cell Issue May Help Democrats
August 24, 2004 Download the complete report Navigate this Report GOP More Friendly to Religion Stem Cell Research Views Shifting Catholic Leaders and Communion Churches and Politics Politicians and Faith Gay Marriage Ten Commandments in Public Bu...
Religious Beliefs Underpin Opposition to Homosexuality
November 18, 2003 Download the complete report Navigate this Report Part 1: Opinion of Homosexuals Part 2: Gay Marriage About this Survey Questionnaire Opposition to gay marriage has increased since the summer and a narrow majority of Americans al...
Religion and Politics: Contention and Consensus
Religion is a critical factor these days in the public's thinking about contentious policy issues and political matters.
Survey: Americans Hearing about Iraq From the Pulpit, But Religious Faith Not Defining Opinions
March 19, 2003 Full survey report Most American churchgoers are hearing about the issue of war with Iraq at their places of worship. But most say their ministers are not taking a position for or against the war, and relatively few people say their...
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