Government

The Kansas State Board of Education has begun hearings on whether to change the way that biology is taught in public schools to include the teaching of intelligent design, a contrary theory to that of evolution and natural selection.

Introduction and Summary Americans have ambivalent views about the appropriate role for government in curbing sex, violence and indecency in the entertainment media. They have doubts about the effectiveness of government action, and believe that public pressure ­ in the form of complaints and boycotts ­ is a better way of dealing with the problem. […]

Summary of Findings The American public is not happy with the nation’s political leadership. President Bush’s approval rating remains below 50%, and just 39% approve of the job performance of Republican congressional leaders. Despite the paltry ratings for GOP leaders, however, Democrats have failed to benefit. The public has about the same low regard for […]

Pew Research Center Washington, D.C. Download the Pew Forum legal backgrounder Speakers: Nathan J. Diament, Director, Institute for Public Affairs, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America; Co-Editor, Tikkun Olam: Social Responsibility in Jewish Law and Thought Ira C. “Chip” Lupu, F. Elwood and Eleanor Davis Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School […]

2:00-3:30pm National Press Club Washington, D.C. Download legal backgrounder on Ten Commandments cases (154K .pdf) On March 2, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases that concern the placement of Ten Commandments displays on public property. The commandments controversy came to national prominence in 2003, when the chief justice of the Alabama […]

In contrast to abortion, gay marriage and other hot-button cultural issues, which divide most religious groups in the United States, there is a fairly strong consensus across faith traditions on environmental policy, according to recent polls sponsored by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Nevertheless, conservative Christians and some minorities are not quite […]

10:00am-11:30am Washington, D.C. MR. BOB WEINBERG: Friends, we are about to begin the program while you continue to enjoy this delicious luncheon. And the speakers, I’m sure, will be up to the challenge of competing with the clacking of the knives and forks. I’m Bob Weinberg, the president of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers […]

10:00am-Noon Washington, D.C. Speakers: J. Bryan Hehir, Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University Charles Krauthammer, Columnist, The Washington Post* Walter Russell Mead, Henry Kissinger Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations Louise Richardson, Executive Dean, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University […]

Note: An updated version of this report is now available as Politics and the Pulpit: 2008. During every election cycle, many religious congregations find themselves wondering what role, if any, they can play in the political process. Can a minister, rabbi, imam or other member of the clergy endorse a candidate from the pulpit or […]

Despite Sen. John Kerry’s military background and his campaign’s concerted efforts to court veterans, he runs no better among this group than Al Gore did four years ago. Based on surveys conducted March, May, June and July, men who have served in the armed forces favor Bush over Kerry by a 49% to 40% margin. […]