Pew Daily Number

Of all the major racial and ethnic groups in America, blacks are the most likely to report a formal religious affiliation, and even among black adults who are unaffiliated (12%), more than two-thirds (70%) say that religion is somewhat or very important in their lives.

Around the globe, publics are expressing negative views about their economy -- 18 of 24 countries surveyed by Pew describe current economic conditions as bad.

Trends among America’s youngest voters are often a barometer for the political climate, a troubling thought for the GOP since the Democrats’ current lead in party identification among young voters has more than doubled since 2004, from 11 points to 25 points.

Over the past few months, Republican views on the state of the nation have turned more negative; just 29% of Republicans now say they are satisfied with the state of the nation, an eleven-point drop in two months, and half the proportion expressing satisfaction in January 2007.

A much greater share of independents -- 46% -- now say they are either undecided or might change their minds than said so four years ago; in June 2004, only 28% of independents were still wavering.

By a margin of 46-42, Americans say that the rich are rich mainly because they know the right people or are born into wealth rather than because of hard work, ambition or education. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the upper class is less likely to attribute their success to family ties or connections with 56% saying that rich people achieve their money through hard work. Most of the lower class (53%) believes that connections are the key.

As it did in October 2004, gay marriage ranks lowest in importance among 16 campaign issues for the average U.S. voter; overall, 28% say gay marriage will be very important to their vote, down slightly from 32% in 2004.

A quarter (26%) of online adults have searched for a friend online, with men (28%) slightly more likely than women (23%) to seek out information about a friend online.

As France commemorates the storming of the Bastille today -- a symbol of the uprising of the modern French nation -- the median percentage of people saying the French government respects the freedoms of its people in a 24-nation Pew Research survey is 63%, essentially the same as the rating given the U.S. government (65%). Majorities in 16 nations say the government of France respects the freedoms of its people, and the percentage of people saying France does not respect these freedoms tends to be lower than is the case for the U.S. Overwhelmingly, fellow Europeans believe the French government treats its people well. More than three-quarters of those surveyed in Germany (86%), Poland (82%), Spain (79%) and Great Britain (78%) believe the government in Paris respects the rights of its citizens, as do two-thirds in Russia. The French themselves are actually more likely than any other European public to say these rights are not respected in their country -- still, only 22% feel this way.

In a nation often portrayed as idealizing money and hard work, the top choice among a list of life’s priorities included in a Pew Social Trends survey question was "having enough time to do the things you want"; some two-thirds (68%) of the self-identified middle class say that free time is very important to them, more than say the same about anything else on the list, including having children (62%), having a successful career (59%), being married (55%), living a religious life (53%), and donating to charity or doing volunteer work (52%). And having free time is many times more important than being wealthy, which was rated as very important by only 12% of the middle class. When it comes to these life priorities, there is almost no class difference in the responses. The finding about the widespread importance of free time raises intriguing questions. Is this a reaction to the stress of modern life? Is leisure-time shrinking for middle class Americans? And who values free time the most -- those who already have it, or those who wish they did?

Overall, the United States evokes negative reactions among Muslim publics, but nowhere are there more negative feelings than among the Shia population of Lebanon; not a single respondent in a recent Pew Research survey expressed a favorable opinion of the U.S.

Roughly one-third of all Protestants were either unable or unwilling to describe their specific denominational affiliation; respondents, for instance, described themselves as "just a Baptist" or "just a Methodist." Protestants account for roughly half of the adult population and nearly two-in-three (65%) Christians in the United States, but American Protestantism is very diverse.

Fully 61% of voters say it is more important for the next president to focus on domestic policy, while just 22% cite foreign policy, a view broadly shared by voters across the political spectrum. Solid majorities of both Barack Obama supporters (66%) and John McCain supporters (57%) say it is more important for the next president to focus on domestic issues.

Barack Obama receives more positive backing than any Democratic candidate in the past two decades; fully three-quarters of his supporters view their vote as being for him, rather than against John McCain. By contrast, on the eve of the 2004 election, just 43% of John Kerry backers were voting for him while 50% were more motivated by disapproval of George W. Bush. At 64%, affirmative support for McCain mirrors Bush’s support in 2000.

In a 2007 Pew poll, about half (49%) of Americans say they completely agree with the statement "I am patriotic" - a decline from the near-record 56% who said so in August 2003. (In November 1991, 58% said they completely agreed with the statement.) While patriotic sentiment has remained at a very high level for a very long time , strong expressions of patriotism have fluctuated in frequency somewhat.

More than three-in-four Republicans (76%) say moral values will be important to their vote, compared with 55% of Democrats and 61% of independents. The partisan gap is among the largest of 16 issues tested. Greater concern among Republican voters on social issues also creates issue gaps with Democrats on gay marriage (19 points) and abortion (14 points). Independent voters give these issues about as much priority as do Democratic voters.

Voters are split on whether a McCain presidency would be a continuation of Bush’s policies (44%) or a new direction (45%). Most Democrats (66%) remain convinced that McCain would follow in Bush’s footsteps, but Republicans increasingly believe McCain will chart a new course (69% compared with 53% in March). Nearly half of independents (47%) say McCain will break with Bush, while 40% say he will continue his policies.

A narrow majority of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters (53%) say they would like to see Barack Obama pick Hillary Clinton as his running mate. Clinton supporters are increasingly supportive of the prospect: 76% favor an Obama-Clinton ticket, up from 69% in March. By contrast, just 37% of Obama backers say they would like to see him pick Clinton as his running mate, down from 49% in March.

The number of people who say they are unaffiliated with any particular faith today (about 16%) is more than double the number who say they were not affiliated with any particular religion as children.

Only 13% of U.S. adults say it’s "very important" for them to be wealthy, ranking this personal priority far behind six others measured in a Pew Social Trends survey; but don’t get Americans wrong -- a majority certainly wouldn’t mind being rich.