Government

fact sheetJun 27, 2007

Religious Displays and the Courts

In a new series of occasional reports, “Religion and the Courts: The Pillars of Church-State Law,” the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life explores the complex, fluid relationship between government and religion. Among the issues to be examined are religion in public schools, displays of religious symbols on public property, conflicts concerning the free […]
transcriptJun 14, 2007

After Gonzales v. Carhart : The Future of Abortion Jurisprudence

Washington, D.C. On April 18, 2007, the Supreme Court handed down a major ruling on abortion rights, upholding the constitutionality of the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. The 5-4 decision in the case, Gonzales v. Carhart, upheld for the first time a law that bans a specific abortion method, and it did so even though […]
fact sheetJun 13, 2007

Twenty Years After a Landmark Supreme Court Decision, Americans Are Still Fighting About Evolution

by David Masci, Senior Research Fellow, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Twenty years ago, on June 19, 1987, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that dramatically reshaped the debate over teaching evolution in public schools. In Edwards v. Aguillard, the high court struck down a Louisiana law requiring that schools teach creation […]
fact sheetJun 6, 2007

The High Court Upholds the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act

On April 18, 2007, the Supreme Court handed abortion opponents a major victory, ruling that the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act does not violate the constitutional right to abortion. The 5-4 decision charts a new direction for the high court and its abortion jurisprudence. Just seven years earlier, the court had struck down a […]
transcriptMay 22, 2007

Another Trans-Atlantic Divide? Church-State Relations in Europe and the United States

Washington, D.C. Europeans and Americans approach the relationship between church and state differently. European churches, for instance, often receive official sanction and substantial financial support from the government. In the United States, on the other hand, the government recognizes no church, and whatever aid it provides is usually indirect and substantially more limited. Even ideas […]
reportMay 17, 2007

Rev. Falwell’s Moral Majority: Mission Accomplished?

When the late Rev. Jerry Falwell disbanded the Moral Majority in 1989, he declared that “our mission is accomplished.” If Falwell meant that evangelical Christians had come to accept the idea that organized religion should play an activist role in the political process, his claim of success is well-supported by public opinion surveys.
transcriptMay 15, 2007

God’s Will: Iran’s Polity and the Challenges of the Future

Key West, Florida Some of the nation’s leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in May 2007 for the Pew Forum’s biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. Ray Takeyh, a leading expert on Iran and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, shed light on the complex and diffuse […]
reportMay 9, 2007

Closeness to Troops Boosts Support for War — but Not By Much

Those with close contacts to servicemembers in Iraq or Afghanistan tend to be more supportive of the Iraq war but their differences with those who are not closely connected are relatively modest.
fact sheetMay 9, 2007

School Graduations, Religion and the Courts

Spring is the season for school graduations, and graduation ceremonies play a featured role in the national debate over the place of religion in public education. Is a clergyman’s benediction at a public school event a violation of the separation of church and state? Can students lead a prayer at their school commencement? In a […]
transcriptMay 8, 2007

International Religious Freedom: Religion and International Diplomacy

Pew Research Center Ten years ago, the U.S. Congress launched a debate on U.S. international religious freedom policy that ultimately resulted in the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Foreign policy actors continue to debate how religious freedom – and religion itself – should be factored into U.S. foreign policy. Has the State Department interpreted […]