Religion & Politics

Pope Francis, leader of the world’s nearly 1.1 billion Catholics, enjoys broad support across much of the world: a median of 60% across 43 nations have a favorable view of him. Only 11% see the pope unfavorably, and 28% give no rating.

While the degree of racial segregation within religious congregations remains high, some houses of worship in the U.S. have become more diverse in recent years, according to a National Congregations study.

Of the 64 countries in this category, about half have Christian symbols (48%) and about a third include Islamic religious symbols (33%).

Tens of millions of Latin Americans have left the Roman Catholic Church in recent decades and embraced Pentecostal Christianity.

Nearly 40% of the world's Catholics live in Latin America, but many people in the region have converted from Catholicism to Protestantism, while some have left organized religion altogether.

Nearly 40% of the world's Catholics live in Latin America, but many people in the region have converted from Catholicism to Protestantism, while some have left organized religion altogether.

One-in-five Americans report sharing their religious faith on social networks like Facebook and Twitter in an average week, about the same percentage that tune in to religious talk radio, watch religious TV programs or listen to Christian rock music.

Exit poll data from the 2014 midterm elections finds the GOP made inroads among some religious constituencies that traditionally have not been as supportive of Republican candidates.