The digital pulpit: A nationwide analysis of online sermons

What do churchgoing Americans hear each week during religious services? A new Pew Research Center computational analysis looked at nearly 50,000 sermons posted on churches’ websites to shed light on this question, finding that Catholic sermons are the shortest, at a median of just 14 minutes, while sermons at evangelical Protestant (39 minutes) and historically black Protestant (54 minutes) churches are much longer. The report also explores some of the most common and distinctive terms found in sermons across Christian traditions.
Q&A: Why we studied American sermons and how we did it

Key findings: How living arrangements vary by religious affiliation around the world

While household patterns are tied to many factors, including economic development, local laws and cultural norms, they also vary by religion, according to a recent Pew Research Center analysis of more than 20 million households in 130 countries and territories. A Fact Tank post highlights some of the key findings.

Most Americans say it is not necessary to believe in God to be moral

A new Pew Research Center survey on Americans’ political values included a few questions related to religion, finding that a majority of U.S. adults (63%), including three-quarters of adults under 30, say it is not necessary to believe in God to be moral and have good values. A similar share of Americans (61%) say it is a good thing for society that same-sex marriage is now legal. And the public is evenly split over whether Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence among its believers, with a sharp partisan divide on this question.

This newsletter will take a break for the holidays the next two weeks. It will next publish Jan. 8, 2020.