Significant Figures

Despite recent trends documenting an overall decline in religious belief, practice, and affiliation, most Americans still identify with a particular religious tradition. But surprisingly, a significant number of religious Americans say their religious beliefs or identity are not central to who they are. A majority of both White (67 percent) and Hispanic (60 percent) Catholics,

Americans who pass up an opportunity to go to college may pay for it in the long run, and not just in their paychecks.

So much research and commentary have focused on the decline of public trust in various institutions—the media, government, police, the justice system. But over the last decade, we have also seen an erosion of the confidence that Americans have in each other. According to the Pew Research Center, only 38 percent of Americans report they are

We have long known that churches and religious congregations are important sources of political information and influence. Now, a new report finds that many Americans perceive their congregation as sharing a mix of liberal and conservative beliefs. However, certain traditions are much more likely to have uniformly conservative congregations. Nearly half of White evangelical Protestants (47 percent) and Mormons (47 percent) say that the people they attend religious services with have mostly conservative

Americans who never attended college are experiencing a rapid social decline—they have fewer close friends and considerably less social support. Part of the reason may have to do with the fact that Americans without a college education have fewer workplace friends. Sixty-two percent of college graduates have a close friend they met through work, compared to 47

In 1996, Americans were far more supportive of legal abortion than allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. Only 31 percent of Americans favored same-sex marriage in the mid-1990s while nearly six in 10 (57 percent) said abortion should be legal in at least some circumstances. Today, nearly seven in 10 (69 percent) Americans believe

Americans with less formal education tend to express greater certainty about their belief in God. Fifty-nine percent of Americans without a college education say they are certain God exists. Only 44 percent of those with post-graduate education say the same, although they are slightly more likely to express certainty that God does not exist. Despite

The August 2021 American Perspectives Survey explores how much say parents and partisans believe parents, teachers, and legislators should have in deciding what is taught in public schools.

Even as gay and lesbian issues have slipped from national headlines, public attitudes on LGBTQ issues continue to evolve.

Recent work shows that all Americans—men and women alike—benefit when they develop intimate and emotionally supportive connections with their friends. But quantity matters too.