Topic: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

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Catholicism in Latin America: 5 key facts

Pope Benedict XVI began his second trip to Latin America on March 23, with stops in Mexico and Cuba. Here is a brief history of the Catholic church in the Americas.

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Catholicism in Latin America: 5 key facts

Pope Benedict XVI began his second trip to Latin America on March 23, with stops in Mexico and Cuba. Here is a brief history of the Catholic church in the Americas.
Does it help Rick Santorum to slam JFK on religion's role in politics?

Rick Santorum on Sunday attacked John F. Kennedy's 1960 speech affirming separation of church and state. With two-thirds of Americans saying religion is 'losing influence' in US life, he may be playing to those who worry about that.
Politics of Rick Santorum's theology: Is faith a kingmaker or deal-breaker?

Rick Santorum, playing the religion card, appears to be winning support of evangelical Christians ahead of potentially pivotal GOP primaries in Arizona and Michigan.
Editorial Board Blog
Egypt's deadly rumors of interfaith marriage

Last weekend's riot between Muslims and Coptic Christians in Egypt that killed 13 people was not the first time a rumor about an interfaith marriage set off sectarian violence there. Egyptian religions set marriage rules, forbidding interfaith unions. It's a matter of civil law in the US.
Tea party: Libertarian revolt or religious right in disguise?

In Texas and some other states, the tea party has focused on abortion as much as the state deficit. Five months after its successes in Election 2010, the tea party faces a reckoning: What does it stand for?
Global News Blog
Is Obama trying to dodge a head gear controversy in India?

President Obama will visit India next month. But his staff may have taken a trip to the Golden Temple off the agenda as it would involve wearing head gear, possibly furthering speculation that he is Muslim.
In US, atheists know religion better than believers. Is that bad?

A new study shows that many devout Americans know less about religion than do atheists. To some observers, it suggests a shallowness of faith. To others, it is evidence that Americans know the spirit better than the letter of religion.
Agnostics, atheists, Jews, and Mormons score high in religion survey

Agnostics, atheists, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions, while many respondents could not correctly give the most basic tenets of their own faiths.
Conservative Evangelicals embrace God and green

Why some right-leaning evangelical Christians have become true believers in climate change. God and green go together, these conservatives say.
Why some Americans mix Christianity, Eastern religions

Worshipers are borrowing from Eastern religions and New Age beliefs. Open-mindedness or a dilution of faith traditions?
Global News Blog
Religious freedom not the rule for majority of world: Pew report

The majority of the world – seven in 10 – lives in countries with high restrictions on religious freedom, according to a newly released Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life report.
New face of religion in Latin America

Evangelicalism sweeps through churches, leading some to say that Latin America is emerging as the new center of Christianity.
New York state Senate rejects gay marriage, focus turns to N.J.

The 38-to-24 vote in the New York state Senate is a fresh and stinging defeat for gay marriage, which was also recently rejected in Maine. Now, the New Jersey legislature might take up this issue.
The Vote
Support for abortion slips ... because Obama is pro-choice?

Americans are evenly-divided on abortion in a new Pew poll, with a slim majority now against abortion.
Post 9/11, Americans say Muslims face most discrimination

But many also see Islam as a violent religion, according to a Pew Forum survey.
Why so many Americans switch religions

A new Pew survey suggests that many Catholics leave their church because of doctrine, whereas Protestants tend to leave because of life changes such as marriage.
Survey sees a drift away from religion in America

The percentage of Christians in the US declined, while that of people with 'no religion' almost doubled.
The role of religion under Obama

Wednesday's National Prayer Service featured an array of faith leaders, as Democrats aim for inclusiveness and a fuller religious voice.
Most US Christians define own theology

More than half say other faiths can also lead to salvation.
Obama made inroads with religious vote

The Democrat prevailed with Roman Catholic and Jewish voters. He even picked up support among Evangelicals.
The Palin factor in the 'culture wars'

She may revive the wars, but the country and the candidates have moderated since the 2004 race.
More blacks explore Judaism

Conversions to Judaism among African-Americans are growing in a way that could affect the presidential election.
Christianity in a Chinese workplace? For some.

A strategic semiconductor firm gets leeway on promoting faith in its halls.
Many Americans switch religious denominations, study finds

In a landmark survey, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life finds a new religious landscape in America.