Only about one-in-eight Americans describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or unaffiliated with a religious tradition, though the number has risen from the 8% who said so in 1987.
That’s the minority share of the American public that now agrees with the view that “the government is really run for the benefit of all the people,” down from the 55% who said so five years ago.
About a third of the Lebanese public (34%) now feels that suicide bombings are often or sometimes justified in the defense if Islam, a large decline from the 74% who said so in 2002.
That’s the percentage of Republicans expressing strong religious commitment in the latest Pew Values survey, a higher number than at any time in the past 20 years.
That’s the percentage of Italians who voice concern about immigration, the highest share of any of the publics in the latest Pew Global Attitudes 47-nation survey.
About one-in-five Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters (21%) said last month that an endorsement by former vice president Al Gore, now winner of both the Nobel Peace Prize and an Academy Award, would make them more likely to support a candidate; just 7% say his endorsement would drive them away.
That’s the proportion of Americans who cited environmental problems as a major global threat in a recent Pew Global Attitudes poll, a double-digit increase over the number who did so five years ago but still fewer than in any other advanced industrial country or in China.