Politics & Policy

It could be a sign of the times – or something more lasting – but far more Americans today feel like their side is losing more often than winning in politics.

The three countries on the pope’s itinerary -- Uganda, Kenya and the Central African Republic -- all have sizable Catholic populations. But they also have seen violent clashes in recent years.

Americans are deeply cynical about government, politics and the nation's leaders.

Overview A year ahead of the presidential election, the American public is deeply cynical about government, politics and the nation’s elected leaders in a way that has become quite familiar. Currently, just 19% say they can trust the government always or most of the time, among the lowest levels in the past half-century. Only 20% […]

That's compared with 27% of Gen Xers and 24% of Boomers who say the same.

Most American adults say a family member is caring for their aging parent who needs help handling their affairs or caring for themselves. And if they’re not already helping out a parent, most expect to do so someday.

In principle, most people around the world support freedom of expression. But there is a fine line between general support for freedom of speech and support for specific forms of expression.

Although many observers have documented a global decline in democratic rights in recent years, people around the world nonetheless embrace fundamental democratic values, including free expression. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that majorities in nearly all 38 nations polled say it is at least somewhat important to live in a country with free […]

Most people in the countries we surveyed – including 11 countries with significant Muslim populations – had negative views of the Islamic State extremist group as of spring.

Republican voters give the current field of presidential candidates higher ratings than at comparable times in the past two nomination contests.