Four-in-ten countries and territories worldwide had blasphemy laws in 2019
79 countries and territories out of the 198 studied around the world (40%) had laws or policies in 2019 banning blasphemy.
Sub-Saharan Africa
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Religion in South Africa 15 Years After the End of Apartheid
On April 27, 1994, South Africa held its first democratic elections after the fall of the apartheid system of racial segregation. Religion played an important role in bringing about this change: Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his outspoken opposition to apartheid, and many of South Africa’s churches were […]
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Despite Progress and an Upbeat Pre-Election Mood, Ethnic Conflicts Have Long Worried Many Kenyans
by Richard Wike, Senior Researcher and Kathleen Holzwart, Research Analyst, Pew Global Attitudes Project Until recently, Kenya was considered something of a success story in a troubled region; now, however, it is consumed by political and ethnic violence following last week’s disputed reelection of President Mwai Kibaki. The unrest has shocked many both inside and […]
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The Changing Racial and Ethnic Composition of U.S. Public Schools
The 5-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in June to strike down school desegregation plans in Seattle and Louisville has focused public attention on the degree of racial and ethnic integration in the nation’s 93,845 public schools.
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A Rising Tide Lifts Mood in the Developing World
A 47-nation survey finds that as economic growth has surged in much of Latin America, East Europe and Asia over the past five years, people are expressing greater satisfaction with their personal lives, family incomes and national conditions. The picture is different in most advanced nations, where growth has been less robust and citizen satisfaction has changed little since 2002.
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Nigeria’s Presidential Election: The Christian-Muslim Divide
by Robert Ruby and Timothy Samuel Shah, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life March 21, 2007 If Nigeria’s presidential election takes place as scheduled on April 21, it will mark the first transfer of power from one elected civilian president to another in the country considered the key to stability for all of West […]
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Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Releases Results from a 10-Country Public Opinion Survey of Pentecostals
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life today released the results of a 10-country survey of pentecostal and charismatic Christians, two large and fast-growing groups whose socially conservative views are impacting religion and politics worldwide.
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Spirit and Power – A 10-Country Survey of Pentecostals
Executive Summary By all accounts, pentecostalism and related charismatic movements represent one of the fastest-growing segments of global Christianity. According to the World Christian Database, at least a quarter of the world’s 2 billion Christians are thought to be members of these lively, highly personal faiths, which emphasize such spiritually renewing “gifts of the Holy […]
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Religious Fault Lines in West Africa
12:00-2:00pm Council on Foreign Relations Washington, D.C. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Council on Foreign Relations co-hosted a luncheon roundtable entitled Religious Fault Lines in West Africa on March 15, 2005 at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. In recent history, West Africa has been prone to episodes of […]
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Anglicanism and Global Affairs: The Windsor Report and Beyond
Noon – 2 p.m. Westminster, London, England Speakers: The Rt. Rev. Dr. Josiah Idowu-Fearon, Archbishop, Anglican Church of Nigeria The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, Presiding Bishop, Episcopal Church USA Dr. David Martin, Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics (Emeritus) Moderator: Dr. Timothy Samuel Shah, Senior Fellow in Religion & International Affairs, The Pew […]