Religion & Government

Nearly a quarter of countries used force to prevent religious gatherings during the pandemic; other government restrictions and social hostilities related to religion remained fairly stable.

But they hold differing opinions about what that phrase means, and two-thirds of U.S. adults say churches should keep out of politics.

Here are key findings from our research on the relationship between religion and government in the U.S. and Americans' views on the issue.

Pew Research Center’s political typology sorts Americans into cohesive, like-minded groups based on their values, beliefs, and views about politics and the political system. Use this tool to compare the groups on some key topics and their demographics.

Some Americans clearly long for a more avowedly religious and explicitly Christian country, a March survey finds. However, a clear majority of Americans do not accept these views.

Social hostilities around the world involving religion declined in 2019 to the lowest level in five years.

Social hostilities involving religion, including violence and harassment against religious groups by private individuals and groups, declined in 2019, according to Pew Research Center’s 12th annual study of global restrictions on religion, which examines 198 countries and territories.

Although Catholicism has long been one of the largest U.S. religious groups, John F. Kennedy and Joe Biden are the only Catholic presidents.

When it comes to religious affiliation, the 117th U.S. Congress looks similar to the previous Congress but quite different from Americans overall.

Government restrictions in 2018 were at their highest level since 2007, when Pew Research Center began tracking these trends.