All posts tagged: Pew Research Center

Report ranks countries where religion faces highest government and social persecution

Report ranks countries where religion faces highest government and social persecution

(RNS) — A report by Pew Research Center on international religious freedom named Egypt, Syria, Pakistan and Iraq as the countries where both government restrictions and social hostility most limit the ability of religious minorities to practice their faith. Governmental attacks and social hostility toward various religions usually “go hand in hand,” said the report, the 15th annual edition of a report that tracks the evolution of governments restrictions on religion.  The report uses two indexes created by the center in 2007, the Government Restrictions Index and the Social Hostilities Index, to rank countries’ levels of government restrictions on religion and attitudes of societal groups and organizations toward religion. The GRI focuses on 20 criteria, including government efforts to ban a faith, limit conversions and preaching, and preferential treatment of one or many religious groups. The SHI’s 13 criteria take into account mob violence, hostilities in the name of religion and religious bias crimes. The study looks at the situation in 198 countries in 2022, the latest year for which data are available from such …

Social media companies have too much political power, 78% of Americans say in Pew survey

Social media companies have too much political power, 78% of Americans say in Pew survey

Finally, something that both sides of the aisle can agree on: social media companies are too powerful. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, 78% of American adults say social media companies have too much influence on politics — to break it down by party, that’s 84% of surveyed Republicans and 74% of Democrats. Overall, this viewpoint has become 6% more popular since the last presidential election year. Americans’ feelings about social media reflect that of their legislators. Some of the only political pursuits that have recently garnered significant bipartisan support have been efforts to hold social media platforms accountable. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have been working across the aisle on their Kids Online Safety Act, a bill that would put a duty of care on social media platforms to keep children safe. However, some privacy advocates have criticized the bill’s potential to make adults more vulnerable to government surveillance. Meanwhile, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have also forged an unlikely partnership to propose a bill …

Muslims most discriminated group in US, but Jews not far behind

Muslims most discriminated group in US, but Jews not far behind

(RNS) — Muslims face the most discrimination in American society, according to a new survey of U.S. adults, but Jews are fast catching up. The survey of 12,693 U.S. adults conducted by the Pew Research Center finds that the number of people who say there is a lot of discrimination against Jews has doubled in the last three years, jumping from 20% in 2021 to 40% today. The poll, taken in February, reflects changing attitudes toward U.S. Jews in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel and the fierce, now 6-month-old war in Gaza, in which Israel has reportedly killed more than 32,000 Palestinians. The war has brought charges of genocide against Israel that are now being considered by an international court.  Muslims still top the list of religious and ethnic groups facing discrimination in the view of American adults, with 44% of those surveyed saying Muslims face a lot of discrimination, up from 39% in 2021. “Large majorities see at least some discrimination against many groups in our society today” …

African spiritualities are attracting Black Americans as a source of pride and identity

African spiritualities are attracting Black Americans as a source of pride and identity

(RNS) — Growing up, Chaya Murrell started her day by reciting the Bible’s Psalm 23, which begins, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” The daughter of two Christian preachers also volunteered at the church’s nursery and played roles in the church’s plays. “It was like a major anchor in my life,” she said. Now 27, Murrell still recites the psalm occasionally but has added other practices, such as yoga and tarot card reading. “There is still Christianity present, I still enjoy gospel music. It still feels very grounding to me, but for the most part it has shifted,” she said. Murrell said her shift began as she explored spiritual practices that would celebrate her identity as a Black woman, particularly ancestral African religions, which eventually led to her “religious liberation.” “Following Christianity, as a Black person, feels like laws, like another set of laws, like another set of political governance,” she said. Today when she prays, it’s not to God but to her ancestors, for whom she has built an altar in …

They Ate at My Table, Then Ignored My People

They Ate at My Table, Then Ignored My People

The first dinner I ever hosted in the United States was the spontaneous act of a homesick college freshman. I had nowhere to go during spring break, so I cooked maqlubeh (spiced rice, eggplant, and chicken) and, true to my culture, made enough to feed any student left behind in the dorm. For many of my impromptu guests, I was the first and only Palestinian they knew, and they showed a genuine interest in understanding Palestinian history, and even empathy for our occupation and forceful displacement. It was there, far from Jerusalem, where I had grown up—a Palestinian by heritage but an Israeli citizen—that I began to grasp the power of food as a conduit for dialogue. Although I would at times question how effective it was, I retained some version of that belief until October 7. In the years after that dinner, I became a food writer and, unexpectedly, a culinary ambassador for Palestinian cuisine. My dining gatherings grew in both number and personal meaning; for me, they were a vital source of joy …

Most Americans say religion’s influence is waning, and half think that’s bad

Most Americans say religion’s influence is waning, and half think that’s bad

(RNS) — As the U.S. continues to debate the fusion of faith and politics, a sweeping new survey reports that most American adults have a positive view of religion’s role in public life but believe its influence is waning. The development appears to unsettle at least half of the country, with growing concern among an array of religious Americans that their beliefs are in conflict with mainstream American culture. That’s according to a new survey unveiled on Friday (March 14) by Pew Research, which was conducted in February and seeks to tease out attitudes regarding the influence of religion on American society. “We see signs of sort of a growing disconnect between people’s own religious beliefs and their perceptions about the broader culture,” Greg Smith, associate director of research at Pew Research Center, told Religion News Service in an interview. He pointed to findings such as 80% of U.S. adults saying religion’s role in American life is shrinking — as high as it’s ever been in Pew surveys — and 49% of U.S. adults say …

TikTok Is Basically Just Broadcast TV Now

TikTok Is Basically Just Broadcast TV Now

The notorious social-media app has become less … social. Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: LesDaMore / Getty March 1, 2024, 4:08 PM ET When the Universal Music Group decided to pull its songs from TikTok last month in the midst of a protracted rights dispute, some called the move the “nuclear option.” UMG handles major artists including Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny, and isn’t music the lifeblood of the social app? Billboard has a separate chart for the most popular songs on TikTok; artists such as Lil Nas X effectively owe their career to the platform. Surely this would mark the end of TikTok as we know it, right? Well, not so fast. TikTok has grown into a titanic content machine with a sprawling user base; the platform has good reason to believe that it doesn’t need UMG’s catalog for the gears to turn. As creators were quick to point out following an embarrassing congressional hearing with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew last year, during which politicians betrayed a deep unfamiliarity with the app, the …

Can American congregations learn to embrace the uncoupled?

Can American congregations learn to embrace the uncoupled?

(RNS) — Laura Hepker, a 50-year-old single IT manager, she has felt like a unicorn in the evangelical Christian churches that she knew from a young age. “The structures of the church,” she said, “are very much designed for family.” Data suggests Hepker is anything but a unicorn. Almost half of American adults are now single (including the widowed and divorced), and a thought-provoking Valentine’s Day-themed Pew Research Center study a few years ago suggested that the majority of unmarried men and women aren’t looking to date (and if they are, it’s complicated). Meanwhile, many churches suffering a decline in attendance tend to focus on traditional families. Studies have shown that parents choose churches with their children’s Christian formation in mind, and many pastors are charged with providing ministries that attract these parents to help their congregations survive in an increasingly secular culture.  Peter McGraw. (Photo courtesy of University of Colorado) The emphasis on family ministry, however, is stuck in the demographics of midcentury America, when houses of worship were thriving. “The church model that …

The Catholic Church needs to play a positive role in this year’s election

The Catholic Church needs to play a positive role in this year’s election

(RNS) — This year’s U.S. presidential election is going to be of historic importance for both America and the world, and the Catholic Church in the United States is uniquely positioned to help foster nonpartisan conversation. By Catholic Church, I do not mean just Catholic bishops. All Catholic citizens, and even ex-Catholics, can make a difference. Catholics are important because there are lots of them. They are both Democrats and Republicans, and some of them are swing voters. Catholics make up 21.4% of the U.S. population (12.6% are white Catholics, 8.6% Hispanic Catholics), according to the Public Religion Research Institute. Another 13% of adult Americans are ex-Catholics, according to the Pew Research Center. Altogether, that is about a third of the country. By numbers alone, Catholics matter, but in addition many of them are in battleground states.  A majority of Catholics usually vote for the winner in presidential elections. From 1928 to 1968, Catholics voted solidly Democratic in presidential elections, with perhaps one exception: Gallup says they voted Democratic in 1956, while the National Election …