Support for gay marriage up among black Protestants in last year, flat among white evangelicals
New Pew Research Center data from 2014 show that just within the past year, growing shares of some Christian groups favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry.
Arizona bill sparks debate about religious objections to gay marriage
The bill would allow business owners to cite religious beliefs as a reason for denying services – including to same-sex couples – without fear of legal retribution.
To End Our Days
In recent years, legislatures and courts, religious leaders and scientists, citizens and patient advocates have all weighed in on end-of-life issues ranging from whether the terminally ill should have the right to take their own lives to how much treatment and sustenance those in the last stages of life should receive.
Religious Groups’ Views on End-of-Life Issues
Religious leaders, scholars and ethicists from 16 major American religious groups explain how their faith traditions’ teachings address physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia and other end-of-life questions.
Timeline: Key Dates in the End-of-Life Debate
Issues surrounding the end of life have been debated since long before New York became the first state to explicitly outlaw assisted suicide in 1828. This timeline looks at major events on the topic in the U.S. since the 1960s. Related Publications: Nov. 21, 2013 Views on End-of-Life Medical Treatments Nov. 21, 2013 To End […]
States that allow same-sex marriage also provide protections for religious groups and clergy who oppose it
The battle over same-sex marriage has been about more than whether to allow gays and lesbians to wed. In every state where same-sex marriage is legal – including Illinois, which today became the 16th state to allow gays and lesbians to marry – politicians and others have also debated how to best protect religious freedom. […]
A Portrait of Jewish Americans
American Jews overwhelmingly say they are proud to be Jewish and have a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people, but their identity is also changing: 22% of American Jews now say they have no religion.
Majority of U.S. Catholics’ opinions run counter to church on contraception, homosexuality
Three-quarters of U.S. Catholics say the church should permit birth control, about half favor same-sex marriage and just a third (33%) say homosexual behavior is a sin.
Abortion Viewed in Moral Terms: Fewer See Stem Cell Research and IVF as Moral Issues
Regardless of their views about the legality of abortion, most Americans think that having an abortion is a moral issue. By contrast, the public is much less likely to see other issues involving human embryos – such as stem cell research or in vitro fertilization – as a matter of morality.
