Accordinbg to Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey conducted May 2-7, Americans’ views toward a number of moral issues have shifted significantly since 2001. Their acceptance of gay and lesbian relations has increased the most, up 19 percentage points in the past 12 years — to a record high of 59% today. Americans’ tolerance toward having a baby outside of marriage is also now much greater, up 15 points since 2001, to the current 60%.

Much ink has been spilled in recent months over what social analysts are calling the “rise of the Nones,” the seeming surge in people who claim no faith or say they are unaffiliated with any belief system.. Recent surveys by the Barna Group have shed light on this trend by examining those 18- to 29-year-olds who used to identify themselves closely with faith and the church, but who have since begun to wrestle with that identity.

A new Pew Research Center survey of Muslims around the globe finds that most adherents of the world’s second-largest religion are deeply committed to their faith and want its teachings to shape not only their personal lives but also their societies and politics. At the same time, the survey finds that even in many countries where there is strong backing for sharia, most Muslims favor religious freedom for people of other faiths.

The rise of the so-called “Nones”—the increasing percentage of adults who claim no religious affiliation—has been a much-discussed trend in American religion. Ther Barna Group analyzed 42,855 interviews conducted in recent years, looking at 15 different measures of non-religiosity to explore the emerging post-Christian landscape of the nation.

Jennifer Roback Morse, an economist, rejects the notion that increasing support for homosexual marriage among young people means that its legalization is somehow inevitable.

During tax season many Americans review their 2012 finances, including a look at how much and to whom they donated money last year. A new poll from the Barna Group reports findings on who donated money to charity, how much they gave, and where they gave.

A recent Pew survey found that 70 percent of those in the millennial generation (ages 18 to 33) favor same-sex marriage. But the same poll shows that 65 percent of young evangelicals oppose same-sex marriage.

The movie 42 introduces a new generation of Americans to the man who broke major league baseball’s color barrier, Jackie Robinson. One of the key themes of the film is the role of faith played in his life and in the life of Brach Rickey, the baseball executive who brought him to the majors.

Unmarried couples who live together are staying together longer than in the past — and more of them are having children, according to the first federal data out Thursday that details just how cohabitation is transforming families across the USA.

Attending church on Easter Sunday is not a cut-and-dry decision for everyone – even for self-identified Christians. While similar numbers of Americans plan on attending (41 percent) as are not planning to attend (39 percent) an Easter worship service, 20 percent say they are undecided.