-
Aug 01, 2012 - Catholics who are aware of U.S. bishops’ concerns about restrictions on religious liberty generally agree with the bishops’ concerns. Yet there are no significant differences in presidential vote preferences between Catholic voters who have heard and those who have not heard about the bishops’ protests against government policies they see as restrictive of religious liberty.
Read More
-
Mar 22, 2012 - According to a Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey of professional prison chaplains, America’s state penitentiaries are a bustle of religious activity. More than seven-in-ten chaplains say efforts by inmates to convert others is common, as is religious switching among prisoners. The chaplains consider religion-related programs in prison to be critical to the rehabilitation of prisoners.
Read More
-
Jan 11, 2012 - The Supreme Court issued a ruling in a significant church employment dispute, giving religious organizations wide latitude in hiring and firing clergy and other employees who perform religious duties. In its unanimous decision, the high court explicitly recognized a legal doctrine known as the “ministerial exception.”
Read More
-
Sep 22, 2011 - The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Oct. 5 in a case that could help determine how much latitude religious organizations have in making employment decisions about clergy and others who perform religious duties.
Read More
-
Aug 09, 2011 - A new report from the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that nearly a third of the world's total population of 6.9 billion live in countries where either government restrictions on religion or social hostilities involving religion rose substantially between 2006 and 2009.
Read More
-
Apr 01, 2011 - Are legal disputes involving churches and other religious institutions constitutionally different from those involving their secular counterparts, and if so, how?
Read More
-
Jun 28, 2010 - A divided Supreme Court today ruled, 5-4, that a public law school can deny recognition to a student group that excludes gays and lesbians. The Court said the school could enforce a policy requiring official student organizations to accept all students who want to join.
Read More
-
Apr 28, 2010 - On April 28, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Salazar v. Buono to overturn a lower court ruling that had ordered the removal of a cross from a World War I memorial located in California’s Mojave National Preserve.
Read More
-
Apr 06, 2010 - On April 19, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, a case that will determine whether a public institution can refuse to officially recognize a religiously based organization that prevents those who do not share its religious and moral values from becoming voting members. The Pew Forum provides a brief overview of the case.
Read More
-
Nov 19, 2009 - While most Americans oppose government funding of abortion, few cite funding as a reason for opposing health care reform legislation. If anything, opposition to reform has declined since abortion was debated, with currently 42% in favor and 39% opposed to the reform proposals in Congress.
Read More
-
Oct 01, 2009 - Recently, Americans have become more opposed to legal abortion. New analysis of combined Pew Research Center surveys conducted over the past three years shows that in 2007 and 2008, supporters of abortion rights clearly outnumbered opponents of abortion (those saying it should be illegal in most or all cases) by a 54%-40% margin.
Read More
-
Sep 24, 2009 - The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Oct. 7 in a case that has the potential to determine the fate of a cross on display in the Mojave National Preserve in San Bernardino County, Calif., as well as similar displays across the country. The court's decision might also determine who may bring Establishment Clause lawsuits in federal court in the future.
Read More
-
May 14, 2009 - This report explores the debate over whether and how the government should fund faith-based institutions such as religious schools and charities.
Read More
-
Apr 30, 2009 - A poll finds that most Catholics who have heard about the issue support the University of Notre Dame's decision to invite Barack Obama to speak and receive an honorary degree at their May 17 commencement. But the poll also finds a deep division on this issue between the most-observant Catholics and those who are less observant, as defined by frequency of worship attendance.
Read More
-
Feb 05, 2009 - Polls find 40%-50% of the public accepts a biblical creationist account of the origins of life, while comparable numbers accept the idea that humans evolved over time.
Read More
-
Feb 04, 2009 - Nearly 200 years after Charles Darwin's birth, evolution and religion remain a combustible mix. A new special report by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life gives an overview of the debate, examines its social and legal dimensions and reviews the life and ideas of an unlikely revolutionary.
Read More
-
Feb 04, 2009 - Darwin's achievement was to offer a compelling scientific explanation for how species evolve.
Read More
-
Feb 04, 2009 - A history of landmark evolution cases in the United States.
Read More
-
Feb 04, 2009 - A sampling of recent action in 14 states in which the teaching of evolution has stirred controversy.
Read More
-
Oct 31, 2008 - On Nov. 12 the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that could change how public parks display religious messages such as the Ten Commandments. The Pew Forum provides a brief overview.
Read More
-
Oct 23, 2008 - Courts have long grappled with questions of religious freedom, but other government bodies also help ensure protection of this cherished liberty. Some of the most significant protections in this area are derived from federal and state statutes that extend special protections to people of faith. These statutes protect or accommodate religious freedom in four basic ways.
Read More
-
Sep 29, 2008 - Although the frequency of abortions in the U.S. has dropped to its lowest point since 1974, the debate over abortion continues to play a prominent role in state and federal politics.
Read More
-
Sep 19, 2008 - This report offers a timeline of past 35 years since the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which granted women the constitutional right to terminate their pregnancies.
Read More
-
Sep 16, 2008 - A Pew Forum survey analysis finds that the general public’s views on the legality of abortion have held relatively steady over the years.
Read More
-
Aug 28, 2008 - As children return to the nation's public schools, many will utter the phrase "one nation under God" as part of the Pledge of Allegiance. Research Associate Jesse Merriam explains how the courts have interpreted the constitutionality of this and other acts of "ceremonial deism."
Read More
-
Jun 12, 2008 - The Hein case was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court nearly one year ago, but it will have policy implications for years to come because it permits executive agencies to fund religious organizations and activities without fear of constitutional litigation.
Read More
-
Apr 24, 2008 - Did the Illinois legislature violate the U.S. Constitution when it mandated moments of silence in the state's public schools? Research Associate Jesse Merriam explains that the issue hinges on whether there is a genuine secular purpose behind the legislation.
Read More
-
Mar 27, 2008 - When Pope Benedict XVI arrives in the U.S. on April 15, 2008, he will be greeted by a flock that is undergoing rapid ethnic and demographic changes.
Read More
-
Oct 24, 2007 - The First Amendment guarantees that the federal government will respect the "free exercise" of religion. But do sincerely held religious beliefs exempt individuals or groups from certain laws? This backgrounder details the history of the free exercise debate.
Read: Summary
View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)
-
Jun 01, 2007 - In this latest ruling -- the result of two related cases, Gonzales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood -- the court for the first time upheld a law that bans a specific abortion method.
Read More
-
Apr 19, 2007 - The 5-4 Supreme Court decision upholding a federal law banning a controversial abortion procedure may dramatically raise abortion's visibility in the 2008 presidential election campaign.
Read More
-
Mar 27, 2007 - A March 2007 Supreme Court case involving the free speech rights of students is producing some very unusual alliances.
Read More
-
Sep 28, 2005 - Commentary on opinion polls related to evolution and the teaching of evolution in the classroom.
Read: Summary
View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)