Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Religion

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    Obama, Catholics and the Notre Dame Commencement

    Most Catholics who have heard about the issue support the University of Notre Dame’s decision to invite President Barack Obama to speak and receive an honorary degree at its May 17 commencement, even though he supports abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research. But a new poll conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on […]

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    The Religious Dimensions of the Torture Debate

    Updated May 7, 2009 Amid intense public debate over the use of torture against suspected terrorists, an analysis by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life of a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press illustrates differences in the views of four major religious traditions in […]

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    New Pew Forum Poll Explores Why Americans Change Religious Affiliation

    Diverse Reasons, but Distinct Patterns Emerge A new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that Americans change their religious affiliation early and often, and the reasons they give for changing—or leaving religion altogether—differ widely depending on the origin and destination of the convert. CONTACT Mary SchultzCommunications Manager202.419.4556mschultz@pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/religion “Faith […]

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    Event Transcript: Faith in Flux

    The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life held a conference call with journalists to discuss the release of a new Pew Forum survey that documents the fluidity of religious affiliation in the U.S. and describes the patterns and major reasons for change. “Faith in Flux: Changes in Religious Affiliation in the U.S.” […]

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    Faith in Flux

    Revised February 2011* Americans change religious affiliation early and often. In total, about half of American adults have changed religious affiliation at least once during their lives. Most people who change their religion leave their childhood faith before age 24, and many of those who change religion do so more than once. These are among […]

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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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    Religious Groups’ Views on Global Warming

    Earth Day takes place on April 22 each year. One issue at the center of public discussions about the environment is global warming: whether it is occurring and what its causes might be. An analysis by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life of a 2008 survey conducted by the Pew Research […]