Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

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Short Reads

Short-form data and analysis from Pew Research Center writers and social scientists. To view all our reports and publications, visit our main Publications page.

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  • short reads

    Gain to Believe In

    Roughly half of Americans say people like themselves would gain influence under the Obama administration.

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    Heaven: Not a Gated Community

    Most Americans who claim a religious affiliation think many religions, not just their own religion, can lead to eternal life.

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    The Simple Life

    Fully a third of people living in rural areas see five or fewer widely held consumer products as necessities rather than luxuries.

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    Need that Computer and Cellphone

    Computers are deemed a necessity by just half (51%) of the adult public, and cell phones by 49%. But both of these products are making a swift climb up the necessity scale.

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    Plan to Watch the Inauguration

    Two-thirds of Americans (67%) say they plan to watch Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 20; not surprisingly, even higher percentages of Democrats, Obama voters and African Americans say they plan to tune in.

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    Think Favorably About Obama

    A pre-inaugural Pew Research Center poll finds about eight-in-ten Americans (79%) hold a favorable view of the incoming president, including 59% of Republicans.

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    Fewer See a Partisan Divide

    Fewer than half (46%) among the American public now see the country as more politically divided than in the past, down 20 points from January 2007.