U.S. Catholics Divided on Direction of Church under New Pope
Just over half of U.S. Catholics say the next pope should maintain the traditional teachings of the church; nearly as many favor new directions.
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U.S. Catholics See Sex Abuse as the Church’s Most Important Problem, Charity as Its Most Important Contribution
U.S. Catholics see the scandal over sex abuse by clergy as the most important problem facing the church today and charitable efforts to aid the poor, feed the hungry and heal the sick as the church’s most important contribution.
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Majority of U.S. Catholics Say Next Pope Should Allow Priests to Marry
About six-in-ten U.S. Catholics say it would be good if the next pope allows priests to marry.
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U.S. Catholics Divided On Church’s Direction Under New Pope
As the pontificate of Benedict XVI winds down, three-quarters of American Catholics express a favorable view of the pontiff. Meanwhile, most U.S. Catholics say it would be good if the next pope allows priests to marry. And fully six-in-ten say it would be good if the next pope hails from a developing region like South America, Asia or Africa.
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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).
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Americans Learned Little About the Mormon Faith, But Some Attitudes Have Softened
Eight-in-ten Americans say they learned little or nothing about the Mormon religion during the 2012 presidential campaign, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. At the same time, poll findings suggest some warming of attitudes toward Mormonism, especially among religious groups that voted heavily for Mitt Romney.
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Election 2012 Post Mortem: White Evangelicals and Support for Romney
Leading up to the election, there was speculation about how strongly white evangelical Protestants would support a Mormon candidate. According to a new Pew Research Center analysis of exit poll data, white evangelicals voted for Mitt Romney with as much enthusiasm as his other supporters did.
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Catholics’ Views of U.S. Bishops
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will meet in Baltimore for their annual Fall General Assembly on Nov. 12-15. Seven-in-ten Catholics say they are very (24%) or somewhat satisfied (46%) with the leadership of the American bishops, according to a Pew Research Center Survey.
