half of U.S. adults seldom or never discuss religion

Fact Tank
Gender gap in religious service attendance has narrowed in U.S.

There are many different kinds of gender gaps, including one in religion. In the U.S., for instance, women are more likely than men to say they attend worship services regularly – a trend consistent with many predominantly Christian countries around the world. But the U.S. gap in church attendance has been narrowing in recent decades as the share of women attending weekly has declined. Why is this happening? There are several theories that have been advanced to explain this trend, although they don’t always square with available data.  Read More>>

Fact Tank
 

Religion is less central to everyday life for Muslims in Israel than elsewhere in the region

Israel’s Muslims are highly devout when compared with members of the country’s other principal religions, including Jews, Christians and Druze. However, in the larger context of the Middle East and North Africa, Israeli Muslims actually place less emphasis on religion and some of the key pillars of their faith than do Muslims in neighboring countries. For instance, while a majority of Israeli Muslims (68%) say religion is very important in their lives, this share is substantially lower than the 89% who say the same in Morocco or the 85% in the nearby Palestinian territories and Jordan.  Read More >>

Media Mentions

What keeps believers from talking about faith in public?
May 19 - Deseret News
Deseret News examines a recent Pew Research Center survey that found half of U.S. adults seldom or never discuss religion with those outside their families.

How do Methodists view homosexuality and same-sex marriage? Some poll results
May 18 - Religion News Service
As the United Methodist Church meets for its quadrennial general conference, much has been made of a possible split within the denomination over the role of LGBT members in the church. Religion News Service looks at data from Pew Research Center's 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study on U.S. Methodists' opinions on homosexuality.

In the News

Methodists postpone debate of gay issues that could split denomination
May 19 - Religion News Service
Fresh hopes for Chibok girls as rescued student meets Buhari
May 19 - Agence France-Presse
Dying GOP senator apologizes to Muslims for Donald Trump
May 18 - The Daily Beast
Methodists vote to cut ties with group some consider anti-Israel
May 17 - Religion News Service
Muslim states block gay groups from U.N. AIDS meeting; U.S. protests
May 17 - Reuters
Mexican president proposes legalizing gay marriage
May 17 - The Associated Press
Yes, ISIS is losing in Iraq. No, it's not in its death throes
May 17 - The New York Times *
Justices, seeking compromise, return contraception case to lower courts
May 16 - The New York Times *
Parishioners to leave closed church after 11-year protest
May 16 - The Associated Press
Vatican plays down expectations over women as deacons in Church
May 13 - Reuters

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