Europeans generally reacted to President Obama’s re-election with a mixture of excitement and relief, just as they did four years ago. For many across the Atlantic, Obama’s 2008 victory signaled the end of the Bush-era estrangement between the U.S. and its Western allies, and the emergence of an America that would see the world a lot like Europeans do. However, despite Obama’s re-election at home and continued popularity in Europe, his presidency has not closed the long-running transatlantic values gap. Instead, on issues such as the use of military force, religion, and individualism, Americans and Europeans continue to disagree.

Obama has been popular in Europe since he toured the Continent as a presidential contender. Following George W. Bush’s two terms in office, Europeans immediately embraced Obama’s presidency. A stunning 93% of Germans expressed confidence in Obama in the early months of his first term, compared with just 14% for Bush during his final year in office. In Britain, France, and Spain, the new American president also received stratospheric ratings.

The result was a dramatic “Obama effect” on attitudes toward the U.S. In France, for instance, America’s favorability rating soared from 42% in 2008 to 75% in 2009. And importantly, support for American policies grew, especially support for U.S. anti-terrorism efforts. The enthusiasm that greeted Obama’s election has waned a bit over time, even in Europe, but vestiges of “Obamamania” remain. The 2012 Pew Global Attitudes survey found at least eight-in-ten expressing confidence in the U.S. president in Germany, France, and Britain.

However, while the pervasive anti-Americanism of the Bush years has receded, the “values gap” between Americans and Europeans is alive and well. Polls consistently find a transatlantic divide when it comes to fundamental beliefs on a variety of political and cultural issues. Americans and Europeans view each other with less hostility today, but they still don’t see the world in the same way.

Take the issue of military force. Americans remain more inclined than Europeans to say it’s necessary to use military force to maintain order in the world. Meanwhile, they are significantly less likely than Europeans to believe that getting UN approval is necessary before using military force to deal with international threats. America’s willingness to “go it alone” in world affairs has become an ingrained piece of the country’s international image – and it hasn’t changed much in the Obama years. Majorities across Europe continue to see the U.S. as acting unilaterally, not taking into account the interests of other nations when making foreign policy.

The Obama administration’s use of drone strikes illustrates the divide over hard power. About six-in-ten Americans – including majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and independents – approve of U.S. drone attacks against extremist leaders and organizations in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. But in seven of the eight EU nations surveyed by Pew in 2012, more than half oppose these strikes, including nine-in-ten Greeks and 76% in Spain. The lone exception is the British, who are almost evenly divided on this issue.

Religion is another topic where Americans and Europeans hold very different views. In largely secular Western European nations such as Spain, Germany, Britain, and France, less than a quarter consider religion very important to their lives. Even in Poland, where Catholicism still plays an important role in public life, only 27% say religion is very important. By contrast, fully half of Americans hold this view. Similarly, solid majorities in the six EU nations surveyed by Pew in 2011 said you do not have to believe in God to be a moral person, but only 46% of Americans felt this way.

The same 2011 poll asked Christians from the U.S. and eight European nations whether they identify first with their nationality or their religion. Americans were evenly split: 46% said they think of themselves first as Americans and 46% as Christians. In seven of the eight European countries, a majority of Christians identified primarily with their nationality. Only 8% of French Christians, for example, said they thought of themselves first as Christians.

Individualism also continues to differentiate Americans and Europeans. Most Americans believe individuals largely control their own fate – just 36% agree with the statement “Success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside our control.” However, half or more in Germany, France, and Spain agree with this statement.

Europeans also believe in a very different relationship between the individual and the state. When asked which is more important, that everyone be free to pursue life’s goals without interference from the state, or that the state play an active role in society to guarantee that no one is in need, 58% of Americans choose the former. Majorities across Western and Eastern Europe, on the other hand, say making sure no one is in need should be a bigger priority.

Of course, even on fundamental values like these, opinions can and do shift over time, and on a few key issues, the values gap is shrinking. For instance, Americans are not as convinced as they used to be about their own cultural superiority – in 2002, six-in-ten agreed with the statement “our people are not perfect, but our culture is superior.” By 2011, just 49% held this view, much closer to the levels typically registered in Europe.

Public opinion on homosexuality has also shifted dramatically. The percentage of Americans saying society should accept homosexuality rose from 49% in 2007 to 60% just four years later. This is still much lower than the high levels of acceptance witnessed in Europe – more than eight-in-ten in Spain, Germany, France, and Britain believe homosexuality should be accepted – but the gap is clearly closing. The recent passage of marriage equality ballot initiatives in four U.S. states highlights how quickly public opinion on this issue is changing.

Moreover, young Americans increasingly look like their cohorts across the Atlantic on these questions. Nearly seven-in-ten Americans under age 30 say homosexuality should be accepted and only 37% think their culture is superior to others. Young people are also much more likely than older Americans to believe the government should make sure no one is in need. If these trends continue and expand to other topics, the transatlantic values gap could someday vanish. But for the foreseeable future, the divide will likely persist, regardless of who occupies the White House.

Survey Report

As has long been the case, American values differ from those of Western Europeans in many important ways. Most notably, Americans are more individualistic and are less supportive of a strong safety net than are the publics of Britain, France, Germany and Spain. Americans are also considerably more religious than Western Europeans, and are more socially conservative with respect to homosexuality.

Americans are somewhat more inclined than Western Europeans to say that it is sometimes necessary to use military force to maintain order in the world. Moreover, Americans more often than their Western European allies believe that obtaining UN approval before their country uses military force would make it too difficult to deal with an international threat. And Americans are less inclined than the Western Europeans, with the exception of the French, to help other nations.

These differences between Americans and Western Europeans echo findings from previous surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center. However, the current polling shows the American public is coming closer to Europeans in not seeing their culture as superior to that of other nations. Today, only about half of Americans believe their culture is superior to others, compared with six-in-ten in 2002. And the polling finds younger Americans less apt than their elders to hold American exceptionalist attitudes.

These are among the findings from a survey by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, conducted in the U.S., Britain, France, Germany and Spain from March 21 to April 14 as part of the broader 23-nation poll in spring 2011.

Use of Military Force

Three-quarters of Americans agree that it is sometimes necessary to use military force to maintain order in the world; this view is shared by seven-in-ten in Britain and narrower majorities in France and Spain (62% each). Germans are evenly divided, with half saying the use of force is sometimes necessary and half saying it is not.

Germans are more supportive of the use of military force than they have been in recent years. For example, in 2007, just about four-in-ten (41%) Germans agreed that it was sometimes necessary, while 58% disagreed. Opinions have been more stable in the U.S., Britain and France.

For the most part, opinions about the use of force do not vary considerably across demographic groups. In Germany and Spain, however, support for the use of military force is far more widespread among men than among women. Six-in-ten German men agree that it is sometimes necessary to use military force to maintain order in the world, compared with just 40% of women. And while majorities across gender groups in Spain believe the use of force may be necessary, more Spanish men than Spanish women say this is the case (68% vs. 56%).

In Britain, France, Spain and the U.S., conservatives, or those on the political right, are more likely than liberals, or those on the left, to agree that the use of force is sometimes necessary to maintain world order. However, in the four countries, majorities across ideological groups express this view.¹

When asked whether their country should have UN approval before using military force to deal with international threats, American opinion differs considerably from that of Western Europeans. Americans are almost evenly divided on the question, with 45% saying that the U.S. should have UN approval while 44% say this would make it too difficult to deal with threats; in contrast, solid majorities in the four Western European nations surveyed, including about three-quarters in Spain (74%) and Germany (76%) say their country should have UN approval before it takes military action.

In Western Europe, those with a college degree are more likely than those with less education to say their country should have UN approval before using military force, although majorities across both groups share this view. For example, in Spain, 84% of those who graduated from college say UN approval should be obtained, compared with 70% of those who do not have a college degree. Double-digit differences are also evident in Britain (15 percentage points), Germany (11 points) and France (10 points). This is not the case in the U.S., where respondents across education groups offer nearly identical views.

In Germany, gender differences are also notable; even though German men are more likely than women to say the use of military force is sometimes necessary, more men than women say their country should have UN approval before using force (83% vs. 70%).

The view that their country should have UN approval before using military force to deal with threats is far more prevalent among American liberals than among conservatives. Close to six-in-ten (57%) liberals favor obtaining UN approval, while 33% say this would make it too difficult for the U.S. to deal with threats; in contrast, most conservatives (52%) say getting UN approval would make it too difficult to deal with threats, while 38% say this is an important step. Political moderates fall between the other two groups, with 49% saying the U.S. should seek the approval of the UN before using military force and 42% saying this would make it too difficult to deal with threats. The same ideological difference is generally not evident in Western Europe.

Views on International Engagement

About four-in-ten (39%) Americans say the U.S. should help other countries deal with their problems, while a narrow majority (52%) says the U.S. should deal with its own problems and let other countries deal with their problems as best they can. In this regard, Americans are not drastically different from respondents in France, where 43% believe their country should help other countries and 57% say it should focus on its own problems.

The British are nearly evenly divided; 45% say their country should help other countries deal with their problems and about the same number (48%) believe Britain should deal with its own problems.

Compared with the U.S., France and Britain, Spain and Germany stand out as the only countries where majorities favor international engagement: 55% and 54%, respectively, say their countries should provide assistance to others, while 40% in Spain and 43% in Germany take the more isolationist view.

Opinions about international engagement have changed somewhat in the U.S., France and Spain since last year, but while publics in the two Western European countries are now more in favor of helping others than they were in 2010, more Americans currently take an isolationist position. Last year, about the same number of Americans said their country should help other countries (45%) as said it should let other countries deal with their own problems (46%). Similarly, the Spanish were nearly evenly divided, with 49% favoring engagement and 47% taking an isolationist approach. In France, where a majority continues to take an isolationist view, even more (65%) did so a year ago.

In the U.S. as well as in the four Western European countries surveyed, those with a college degree are far more likely than those with less education to offer an internationalist view. This is especially the case in Germany, where about three-quarters (73%) of those who graduated from college believe their country should help other countries deal with their problems, compared with a narrow majority (52%) of those without a college degree.

Political ideology is also a factor in Germany, France and Spain. In these three countries, those on the right are more likely than those on the left to take the isolationist view when it comes to international engagement. For example, while about half (48%) of left-wing French say their country should deal with its own problems and let other countries deal with theirs as best they can, about six-in-ten (59%) on the right offer this opinion.

Cultural Superiority

About half of Americans (49%) and Germans (47%) agree with the statement, “Our people are not perfect, but our culture is superior to others;” 44% in Spain share this view. In Britain and France, only about a third or fewer (32% and 27%, respectively) think their culture is better than others.

While opinions about cultural superiority have remained relatively stable over the years in the four Western European countries surveyed, Americans are now far less likely to say that their culture is better than others; six-in-ten Americans held this belief in 2002 and 55% did so in 2007. Belief in cultural superiority has declined among Americans across age, gender and education groups.

As in past surveys, older Americans remain far more inclined than younger ones to believe that their culture is better than others. Six-in-ten Americans ages 50 or older share this view, while 34% disagree; those younger than 30 hold the opposite view, with just 37% saying American culture is superior and 61% saying it is not. Opinions are more divided among those ages 30 to 49; 44% in this group see American culture as superior and 50% do not.

Similar age gaps are not as common in the Western European countries surveyed, with the exception of Spain, where majorities of older respondents, but not among younger ones, also think their culture is better than others; 55% of those ages 50 or older say this is the case, compared with 34% of those ages 30 to 49 and 39% of those younger than 30.

As is the case on other measures, opinions about cultural superiority vary considerably by educational attainment. In the four Western European countries and in the U.S., those who did not graduate from college are more likely than those who did to agree that their culture is superior, even if their people are not perfect. For example, Germans with less education are about twice as likely as those with a college degree to believe their culture is superior (49% vs. 25%); double-digit differences are also present in France (20 percentage points), Spain (18 points) and Britain (11 points), while a less pronounced gap is evident in the U.S. (9 points).

Finally, among Americans and Germans, political conservative are especially likely to believe their culture is superior to others. In the U.S., 63% of conservatives take this view, compared with 45% of moderates and just 34% of liberals. Similarly, a majority (54%) of right-wing Germans see their culture as superior, while 47% of moderates and 33% of those on the political left agree.

Individualism and the Role of the State

American opinions continue to differ considerably from those of Western Europeans when it comes to views of individualism and the role of the state. Nearly six-in-ten (58%) Americans believe it is more important for everyone to be free to pursue their life’s goals without interference from the state, while just 35% say it is more important for the state to play an active role in society so as to guarantee that nobody is in need.

In contrast, at least six-in-ten in Spain (67%), France (64%) and Germany (62%) and 55% in Britain say the state should ensure that nobody is in need; about four-in-ten or fewer consider being free from state interference a higher priority.

In the U.S., Britain, France and Germany, views of the role of the state divide significantly across ideological lines. For example, three-quarters of American conservatives say individuals should be free to pursue their goals without interference from the state, while 21% say it is more important for the state to guarantee that nobody is in need; among liberals in the U.S., half would like the state to play an active role to help the needy, while 42% prefer a more limited role for the state.

Those on the political right in Britain, France and Germany are also more likely than those on the left in these countries to prioritize freedom to pursue one’s goals without state interference. Unlike in the U.S., however, majorities of those on the right in France (57%) and Germany (56%) favor an active role for the state, as do more than four-in-ten (45%) conservatives in Britain.

American opinions about the role of the state also vary considerably across age groups. About half (47%) of those younger than 30 prioritize the freedom to pursue life’s goals without interference from the state and a similar percentage (46%) say it is more important for the state to ensure that nobody is in need; among older Americans, however, about six-in-ten consider being free a higher priority, with just about three-in-ten saying the state should play an active role so that nobody is in need. No such age difference is evident in the four Western European countries surveyed.

Asked if they agree that “success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside our control,” Americans again offer more individualistic views than those expressed by Western Europeans. Only 36% of Americans believe they have little control over their fate, compared with 50% in Spain, 57% in France and 72% in Germany; Britain is the only Western European country surveyed where fewer than half (41%) share this view.

In the U.S. and in Western Europe, those without a college degree are less individualistic than those who have graduated from college; this is especially the case in the U.S. and Germany. About three-quarters (74%) of Germans in the less educated group believe that success in life is largely determined by forces beyond one’s control, compared with 55% of college graduates. Among Americans, 41% of those without a college degree say they have little control over their fate, while just 22% of college graduates share this view.

Religion More Important to Americans

Americans also distinguish themselves from Western Europeans on views about the importance of religion. Half of Americans deem religion very important in their lives; fewer than a quarter in Spain (22%), Germany (21%), Britain (17%) and France (13%) share this view.

Moreover, Americans are far more inclined than Western Europeans to say it is necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values; 53% say this is the case in the U.S., compared with just one-third in Germany, 20% in Britain, 19% in Spain and 15% in France.

In the U.S., women and older respondents place more importance on religion and are more likely than men and younger people to say that faith in God is a necessary foundation for morality and good values. About six-in-ten (59%) American women say religion is very important in their lives, compared with 41% of men; and while a majority (56%) of Americans ages 50 and older say religion is very important to them, 48% of those ages 30 to 49 and 41% of those younger than 30 place similar importance on religion.

Similarly, while a majority of American women (58%) say it is necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values, men are nearly evenly divided, with 47% saying belief in God is a necessary foundation for morality and 51% saying it is not. Among Americans ages 50 and older, 58% say one must believe in God in order to be moral and have good values; 50% of those ages 30 to 49 and 46% of those younger than 30 share this view.

Education also plays a role in views of religion in the U.S., to some extent. Although Americans with a college degree are about as likely as those without to say religion is very important to them (47% and 51%, respectively), the less educated are far more inclined to say that one must believe in God in order to be moral; 59% of those without a college degree say this, compared with 37% of those who have graduated from college.

Views of religion and whether belief in God is a necessary foundation for morality vary little, if at all, across demographic groups in the Western European countries surveyed. In Spain, however, respondents ages 50 and older place more importance on religion than do younger people, although relatively few in this age group say it is very important to them; 33% say this is the case, compared with 16% of those ages 30 to 49 and 11% of those younger than 30.

Politically, conservatives in the U.S., Spain and Germany are more likely than liberals to say it is necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values, but while solid majorities of conservatives in the U.S. (66%) take this position, fewer than half of conservatives in Spain (31%) and Germany (46%) share this view. Meanwhile, just 26% of liberals in the U.S., 11% in Spain and 19% in Germany say belief in God is a necessary foundation for morality. Conservatives in the U.S. are also far more likely than liberals to consider religion very important in their lives (67% vs. 29%); in Western Europe, few across ideological groups place high importance on religion.

Religious vs. National Identity

American Christians are more likely than their Western European counterparts to think of themselves first in terms of their religion rather than their nationality; 46% of Christians in the U.S. see themselves primarily as Christians and the same number consider themselves Americans first. In contrast, majorities of Christians in France (90%), Germany (70%), Britain (63%) and Spain (53%) identify primarily with their nationality rather than their religion.

In Britain, France and Germany, more Christians now see themselves in terms of their nationality than did so five years ago, when national identification was already widespread in these countries. This change is especially notable in Germany, where the percentage seeing themselves first as Germans is up 11 percentage points, from 59% in 2006.

Among Christians in the U.S., white evangelicals are especially inclined to identify first with their faith; 70% in this group see themselves first as Christians rather than as Americans, while 22% say they are primarily American. Among other American Christians, more identify with their nationality (55%) than with their religion (38%).

Homosexuality

Tolerance for homosexuality is widespread in the U.S. and Western Europe, but far more Western Europeans than Americans say homosexuality should be accepted by society; at least eight-in-ten in Spain (91%), Germany (87%), France (86%) and Britain (81%), compared with 60% in the U.S.

Acceptance of homosexuality has increased in recent years, and the shift is especially notable in the U.S., where only slightly more said it should be accepted (49%) than said it should be rejected (41%) in 2007. Today, more Americans accept homosexuality than reject it by a 27-percentage point margin.

While there are some differences in opinions of homosexuality across demographic groups in the Western European countries surveyed, overwhelming majorities across age, education and gender groups believe homosexuality should be accepted by society. In the U.S., however, these differences are somewhat more pronounced. For example, while 67% of American women believe homosexuality should be accepted, a much narrower majority of men (54%) share that view. Among Americans with college degrees, 71% accept homosexuality, compared with 56% of those with less education. Finally, about two-thirds (68%) of Americans younger than 30 say homosexuality should be accepted by society; 61% of those ages 30 to 40 and 55% of those ages 50 and older share this view.

In addition to demographic differences, an ideological divide on views of homosexuality is also notable in the U.S., where more than eight-in-ten (85%) liberals and 65% of moderates express tolerant views, compared with 44% of conservatives. In the four Western European countries surveyed, at least three-quarters across ideological groups say homosexuality should be accepted by society.

As the global economy begins to rebound from the great recession, people around the world remain deeply concerned with the way things are going in their countries. Less than a third of the publics in most nations say they are satisfied with national conditions, as overwhelming numbers say their economies are in bad shape. And just about everywhere, governments are faulted for the way they are dealing with the economy.

Yet in most countries, especially in wealthier nations, President Barack Obama gets an enthusiastic thumbs up for the way he has handled the world economic crisis. The notable exception is the United States itself, where as many disapprove of their president’s approach to the global recession as approve.

This pattern is indicative of the broader picture of global opinion in 2010. President Barack Obama remains popular in most parts of the world, although his job approval rating in the U.S. has declined sharply since he first took office.¹ In turn, opinions of the U.S., which improved markedly in 2009 in response to Obama’s new presidency, also have remained far more positive than they were for much of George W. Bush’s tenure.

Ratings of America are overwhelmingly favorable in Western Europe. For example, 73% in France and 63% in Germany say they have a favorable view of the U.S. Moreover, ratings of America have improved sharply in Russia (57%), up 13 percentage points since 2009, in China (58%), up 11 points, and in Japan (66%), up 7 points. Opinions are also highly positive in other nations around the world including South Korea (79%), Poland (74%), and Brazil (62%).

The U.S. continues to receive positive marks in India, where 66% express a favorable opinion, although this is down from last year when 76% held this view. America’s overall image has also slipped slightly in Indonesia, although 59% still give the U.S. a positive rating in the world’s largest predominantly Muslim nation.

Publics of other largely Muslim countries continue to hold overwhelmingly negative views of the U.S. In both Turkey and Pakistan – where ratings for the U.S. have been consistently low in recent years – only 17% hold a positive opinion. Indeed, the new poll finds opinion of the U.S. slipping in some Muslim countries where opinion had edged up in 2009. In Egypt, America’s favorability rating dropped from 27% to 17% – the lowest percentage observed in any of the Pew Global Attitudes surveys conducted in that country since 2006.

Closer to home, a special follow-up poll found America’s favorable rating tumbling in Mexico in response to Arizona’s enactment of a law aimed at dealing with illegal immigration by giving police increased powers to stop and detain people who are suspected of being in the country illegally. Only 44% of Mexicans gave the U.S. a favorable rating following the signing of the bill, compared with 62% who did so before the bill passed.

The new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, conducted April 7 to May 8, also finds that overall opinion of Barack Obama remains broadly positive in most non-Muslim nations. In these countries, the national median confidence in Obama to do the right thing in world affairs is 71%, and overall approval of his policies is 64%. In particular, huge percentages in Germany (88%), France (84%), Spain (76%) and Britain (64%) say they back the president’s policies. Similarly in the two African nations polled Obama gets high marks – 89% of Kenyans and 74% of Nigerians approve of his international policies.

Muslims Grow Disillusioned About Obama

Among Muslim publics – except in Indonesia where Obama lived for several years as a child –  the modest levels of confidence and approval observed in 2009 have slipped markedly. In Egypt the percentage of Muslims expressing confidence in Obama fell from 41% to 31% and in Turkey from 33% to 23%. Last year only 13% of Pakistani Muslims expressed confidence in Obama, but this year even fewer (8%) hold this view. And while views of Obama are still more positive than were attitudes toward President Bush among most Muslim publics, significant percentages continue to worry that the U.S. could become a military threat to their country.

Obamamania Tempers

In countries outside of the Muslim world, where the president’s ratings remain generally positive, his standing is not quite as high in 2010 as it was a year ago. The new poll found fewer in many Asian and Latin American countries saying they have confidence in Obama and approve of his policies generally, and even in Europe the large majorities responding positively to his foreign policy are not quite as large as they were in 2009.

Besides declines in overall confidence in some countries, strong endorsement of Obama eroded in countries where he remains broadly popular. Notably, in Britain, France, Germany, and Japan, fewer this year say they have a lot of confidence in Obama’s judgment regarding world affairs, while more say some confidence; still there was no increase in the percentage expressing no confidence in Obama in these countries.

Even though Obama has called the Arizona immigration law “misdirected,” it is nonetheless having a negative impact on views of him in Mexico. Prior to the law’s passage, 47% of Mexicans had confidence in Obama’s international leadership, but after passage only 36% held this view. More specifically, 54% of Mexicans say they disapprove of the way Barack Obama is dealing with the new law, and as many as 75% say that about Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer.

Disagreeing While Not Disapproving

Perhaps more significant than Obama’s small declines in ratings is that a generally positive view of him and the U.S. coexists with significant concerns about the American approach to world affairs and some key policies. This was not the case in the global surveys taken during President Bush’s terms in office, when specific criticism ran hand in hand with anti-American and anti-Bush sentiment.

Then, as now, one of the most frequent criticisms of U.S. foreign policy is that in its formulation it does not take into account the interests of other countries. This is the prevailing point of view in 15 of 21 countries outside of the U.S. Somewhat fewer people in most countries level this charge than did so during the Bush era. Currently, the median number saying that the U.S. acts unilaterally is 63%; in 2007 a median of 67% expressed that view.

Mixed Reactions to American Policies

In contrast to the Bush years, there is substantial majority support for U.S. anti-terrorism efforts in Britain, France, Spain and Germany. The new poll also found major increases in support of the American efforts in two countries that have been struggling with terrorism of late: Indonesia and Russia, where roughly seven-in-ten say they back the U.S. in this regard. Publics in India, Brazil, Kenya and Nigeria also express strong support for U.S.-led efforts to combat terrorism. However, opposition to these policies is particularly strong in most Muslim countries, and it is also substantial in many nations where the U.S. is fairly well-regarded, including Japan and South Korea.

The war in Afghanistan remains largely unpopular. In Germany, which has the third largest contingent of allied troops in Afghanistan, nearly six-in-ten people favor withdrawal from that country. Opinions are more divided in NATO allies Britain, France and Poland. In most other countries surveyed, majorities or pluralities also oppose the NATO effort.

Global opinion of Barack Obama’s dealing with world trouble spots parallels general opinion of U.S. policies in these areas. With regard to Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, the polling found as many countries approving as disapproving of his handling of these issues. However, the American president gets his worst ratings for dealing with another world problem for which the U.S. is often criticized: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Of 22 nations surveyed including the U.S., in only three nations do majorities approve of Obama’s handling of the dispute: France, Nigeria and Kenya.

In sharp contrast to criticisms and mixed reviews of Obama’s handling of geo-political problems, Obama not only gets good grades for the way he has handled the world economic crisis, but also for dealing with climate change. In most countries, people approve of Obama’s climate change efforts. France is a notable exception, with a 52%-majority disapproving, despite the country’s approval of his other policies.

Modest Economic Optimism

Global publics are mostly glum about the way things are going in their countries. And, despite signs of economic recovery in many parts of the world, people nearly everywhere, with the notable exception of China, India and Brazil, complain that their national economy is doing poorly. Moreover, there is little optimism about the economic future. And in the wake of Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, more Europeans say integration has hurt their economies, although overall ratings for the EU remain favorable.

In 20 of 22 countries surveyed, less than half the population is satisfied with the direction of the country, including only 30% of Americans. Lebanese (11%) are the least satisfied. Only in China does an overwhelming portion of the population (87%) express satisfaction with national conditions. Overall, assessments are up in nine countries and down in only five.

Few people are happy with the current state of their national economy. In only four countries: China (91%), Brazil (62%), India (57%) and Poland (53%) do publics say economic conditions are good. All four of these nations weathered the global recession relatively well. Economic gloom is most widespread in Japan, France, Spain and Lebanon, where roughly one-in-eight believes the economy is doing well. But there are signs that an economic recovery may be taking hold. In ten of the countries surveyed, people’s assessment of the economy improved significantly from 2009 to 2010. Only in four nations did it recede.

Still, global publics are taking a wait-and-see attitude about the economic future. In only seven of 22 societies does a majority of those surveyed think economic conditions will improve over the next year. The economic bulls in the survey are the Chinese (87%), Nigerians (76%) and Brazilians (75%). The Japanese (14%) are the most bearish.

Disgruntled people generally fault their government for their country’s economic troubles, although many also blame banks and themselves; few blame the U.S. The most satisfied with their government’s economic performance are also those who have experienced some of the strongest growth in the last year. Roughly nine-in-ten Chinese (91%) say Beijing is doing a good job. Indians (85%) and Brazilians (76%) are also quite pleased with their government’s economic management.

Despite some of the worst recent economic conditions since the Depression, support for free markets remains strong, with some of the most tepid backing in Argentina (40%) and Japan (43%). And people continue to favor trade and globalization, with the weakest – but still majority – support in Turkey (64%) and the U.S. (66%).

China Ascendant

A growing number of people around the globe see China’s economy as the most powerful in the world. Looking at the 20 countries surveyed in each of the last three years, China’s economic star keeps rising. The median number naming China as the world’s leading economy has risen from 20% to 31%. Meanwhile, the percentage naming the U.S. has dropped from 50% to 43%. The publics of the countries surveyed vary in their views of China’s growing economic clout. In the West, opinion is divided in Britain, while majorities in Germany, France and Spain and a plurality in the U.S. see China’s economic strength as a bad thing for their country.

The Pakistanis (79%), Indonesians (61%) and Japanese (61%) regard China’s rising economic power as a positive development. Indians and to a lesser extent South Koreans do not. Latin American, Middle Eastern and African publics see their countries benefiting from China’s economic growth. The Turks (18%) overwhelmingly see it the other way.

China is clearly the most self-satisfied country in the survey. Nine-in-ten Chinese are happy with the direction of their country (87%), feel good about the current state of their economy (91%) and are optimistic about China’s economic future (87%). Moreover, about three-in-four Chinese (76%) think the U.S. takes into account Chinese interests when it makes foreign policy.

Europeans on Europe

In the midst of growing economic concerns in Europe, there is little indication of a broad public backlash against the European Union. Large majorities in Poland, Spain, France and Germany and nearly half in Britain remain supportive of the Brussels-based institution. And European publics continue to have a positive view of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is well-regarded in Britain, Spain and France. In fact, as in the past, Merkel gets better ratings in France than in Germany itself for her leadership in world affairs. And French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s ratings are, if anything, somewhat better in Germany than in France. The French leader is less well-regarded in Britain and Spain, but that has been so in previous surveys.

However, Europeans are divided in their views about major economic issues.² They are supportive of the euro, but disagree about the merits of European economic integration and the bailing-out of EU member countries in trouble. Opinion of Greece, the recipient of EU financial aid, is on balance positive in Britain and France. But, a majority of Germans express an unfavorable opinion of it.

At a time when NATO is developing a new strategic concept, majorities in major Europeans nations surveyed continue to hold a favorable view of it, as do most Americans. However, many fewer Germans express a positive assessment of it currently (57%) than did so in 2009 (73%). Germans who express opposition to the NATO effort in Afghanistan are far less likely to hold positive views of this defense organization (45%) than do those who back it (76%). This is also true, but to a lesser extent, in the other EU countries surveyed as well as in the U.S.

Limited Support for Extremism

Support for terrorism remains low among the Muslim publics surveyed. Many fewer Muslims in 2010 than in the middle of the past decade say that suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilians are justified to defend Islam from its enemies. However, the new poll does show a modest increase over the past year in support for suicide bombing being often or sometimes justifiable, with a rise in Egypt from 15% to 20% and in Jordan from 12% to 20%. Still, these are below the levels of support observed mid-decade.

Overall attitudes toward Osama bin Laden have followed a similar trend line among the Muslim publics surveyed by the Pew Global Attitudes Project. Views of the al Qaeda leader have been far more negative in recent years than they were mid-decade. And the poll shows considerably less positive regard for him in Jordan than was apparent in 2009. Support for bin Laden has also declined among Nigerian Muslims, although 48% still express confidence in the al Qaeda leader.

Iran and Its Nuclear Weapons Program

Among the nations surveyed, there is widespread opposition to Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and considerable support for tougher economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic. For instance, more than three-quarters of those who oppose the Iranian nuclear program in Spain (79%), Britain (78%), Germany (77%) and France (76%), as well as 67% in Russia and 58% in China, approve of tougher sanctions. Many are also willing to consider using military force to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear capabilities, including about half of those who oppose Iran’s program in Poland, Germany, Spain, and Britain, and roughly six-in-ten in France.

Still, the Pew Global Attitudes survey foreshadows potential tension between the U.S. and other leading powers over what to do about the Iranian nuclear program. Among those who oppose Tehran acquiring nuclear weapons, Americans are more likely than Europeans, Japanese, Chinese, Indians or Russians to approve of economic sanctions against Iran and to support taking military action to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear armaments.

Pakistan is the only country in which a majority (58%) favors Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. Elsewhere among largely Muslim nations, public opinion on balance opposes a nuclear-armed Iran, although significant numbers of Jordanians (39%) and Lebanese (34%) do want Iran to have such capabilities. In predominantly Muslim countries, those who oppose Iranian nuclear weapons tend to favor tougher economic sanctions, and although fewer support using the military to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing these weapons, majorities or pluralities in four of the six countries surveyed favor this option.

Views on Climate Change

As in 2009, the new poll found substantial majorities of the publics in most countries seeing global climate change as a serious problem. The intensity of concern about this issue is less evident in the U.S., China, Russia, Britain and France than it is among the publics of other major carbon-emitting nations, such as Germany, India, Japan and South Korea.

The publics of the 22 nations surveyed are more divided about paying increased prices to combat climate change. Willingness to do so is nearly universal in China and clear majorities in India, South Korea, Japan, Turkey and Germany also favor consumers paying higher bills. Most people express opposition in the U.S., France, Russia and many of the less affluent countries surveyed, while views are more mixed in Britain, Spain and Brazil.

Also of Note:

• Somewhat more Americans than in 2005 (35% vs. 26%) think the U.S. is well-liked around the world. However, fully 60% think the U.S. is generally disliked. As in 2005, only Americans and Turks are more likely to say their country is disliked than to say it is liked.

• Americans are no more isolationist than Europeans. Asked whether their country should deal with its own problems and let others take care of themselves, 46% of Americans agree, as do 44% of Germans and 49% of British. The French are the most isolationist; 65% oppose helping other nations cope with their challenges.

• But Americans are among the least supportive of international trade among the 22 nations surveyed; nevertheless 66% think it is good for their country.

• While most Europeans and Japanese think Americans are too religious, people in the rest of the world – in 18 of 22 countries – think Americans are not religious enough. This includes the U.S., where 64% say their country should be more religious. Criticism of American secularism is particularly strong in the three Arab nations surveyed.

• Confidence in Russian President Dmitri Medvedev is on the rise, with his assessment up in all five EU member nations surveyed. The strongest backing is in Germany (50%) and the greatest improvement in Poland, where confidence in Medvedev has more than doubled in the last year, to 36%.

Driven by President Obama’s popularity in the region, favorable ratings for the U.S. in Western Europe soared between 2008 and 2009, and in this year’s poll attitudes remain overwhelmingly positive in Britain, France, Germany and Spain.

Opinions about the U.S. have turned sharply negative, however, in Mexico, where resentment of Arizona’s new immigration law is fueling a backlash against the U.S., the American people, and even against President Obama, who has publicly criticized the measure.

And, despite the continued favorable image of the U.S. in most parts of the world, in nine of the fifteen countries where comparable data is available, America’s favorability still lags behind that found in 1999/2000 at the end of President Bill Clinton’s time in office. The U.S. is only more popular in five countries than in the Clinton era – France, Spain, Russia, South Korea and Nigeria.

The U.S. also continues to face image challenges in predominantly Muslim nations. Roughly one year since Obama’s Cairo address, America’s image shows few signs of improving in the Muslim world, where opposition to key elements of U.S. foreign policy remains pervasive and many continue to perceive the U.S. as a potential military threat to their countries.

Concerns about American foreign policy are not limited to Muslim publics, however. Most notably, in regions across the globe, there is a common perception that the U.S. acts unilaterally in world affairs. The war in Afghanistan also remains widely unpopular, although publics among some of America’s European allies are closely divided on this issue. Support for the war has declined over the last year in the U.S. and Americans are also now about evenly split between those who want to keep troops in Afghanistan and those who favor withdrawal.

One issue on which Americans and Western Europeans differ sharply is how they perceive religiosity in the U.S. By a hefty margin, the French, British and Germans say the U.S. is too religious a country, while Americans overwhelmingly think their country is not religious enough. On this issue, Americans tend to agree with the rest of the world – in 17 of 21 countries people tend to say the U.S. is not sufficiently religious.

U.S. Image Largely Positive

Majorities or pluralities in 17 of 21 countries have a very or somewhat favorable opinion of the U.S. The biggest increase in favorable ratings for the U.S. has been among Russians. In America’s former Cold War nemesis, 57% now have a positive view, up 13 percentage points from last year. There was also a significant increase in the other former Eastern bloc nation included in the survey, Poland, where 74% express a favorable opinion, up from 67% in 2009.

Among America’s key Western European allies, ratings remain generally positive and largely steady. After a steep decline in approval during the years of the Bush presidency, large majorities in all four Western European nations surveyed now express a positive attitude toward the U.S. Fully 73% in France give the U.S. positive marks, essentially unchanged from last year. U.S. favorability dropped just slightly in Britain, from 69% to 65%. Again this year, just over six-in-ten in Germany (63%) and Spain (61%) offered a favorable assessment.

Favorable ratings for the U.S. have suffered a double-digit decline in Egypt. In 2009, 27% of Egyptians had a favorable opinion, but this year only 17% hold this view, tying Egypt with Turkey (17%) and Pakistan (17%) for the lowest U.S. favorability rating in the survey. Views of the U.S. are only slightly more positive in Jordan, where 21% give a favorable assessment, down somewhat from 25% last year. The two predominantly Muslim countries that accord the U.S. its most positive ratings are Lebanon (55%) and, especially, Indonesia (59%), where President Obama’s personal connection to the country buoys America’s overall image.

Ratings for the U.S. have improved markedly in China – 58% have a positive view this year, up from 47% last year. America’s image has been steadily improving in China since 2007, when only 34% expressed a favorable opinion.

Favorable ratings have become less common over the last year in India, dropping 10 percentage points. Nonetheless, 66% of Indians continue to hold a positive opinion of the U.S.

An identical percentage of Japanese (66%) voice a positive view. And despite the July 2009 election of a new ruling party that, according to many observers, has voiced criticisms of American policies, U.S. favorability has actually risen seven percentage points since the spring 2009 poll. Elsewhere in Asia, South Koreans continue to give the U.S. overwhelmingly positive marks (79%).

The only publics giving the U.S. higher marks than South Koreans are the two nations surveyed in sub-Saharan Africa. Roughly eight-in-ten (81%) have a positive view in the continent’s most populous country, Nigeria. And with near unanimity, Kenyans (94%) voice a positive opinion of the U.S. Additionally, President Obama is extremely popular in Kenya, and the 2009 Pew Global Attitudes survey found that the vast majority of Kenyans were aware of his personal connection to their nation (his father was from Kenya). However, the U.S. was also relatively popular in Kenya, and in much of Africa, during George W. Bush’s presidency.

In contrast, Argentines have given the U.S. largely negative reviews in recent years, although favorable ratings have become more common since 2008. Currently, Argentines are nearly evenly divided; 42% rate the U.S. favorably and 41% rate it unfavorably. The U.S. gets more positive evaluations in neighboring Brazil, where roughly 62% have a favorable opinion.³

The biggest decline in overall ratings for the U.S. occurred in Mexico, the result, in part, of a backlash against the recently passed immigration bill in Arizona. Overall, favorable opinions of the U.S. have dropped from 69% to 56% in Mexico since 2009, but there are sharp differences between those interviewed before and after the Arizona measure was signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer on April 23, 2010. Among respondents interviewed from April 14-20, 62% had a positive view of the U.S., compared with just 44% of those interviewed May 1-6.

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Mexicans surveyed after the law’s enactment have heard of the new law, including 23% have heard a lot about it; one-in-four have not heard of it.

When asked how leaders on both sides of the border are handling the controversial new measure, Mexicans generally offer negative assessments. In particular, Gov. Brewer gets poor marks – 75% disapprove of the way she has dealt with the law. And even though U.S. President Barack Obama has criticized the new law, a majority of Mexicans (54%) disapprove of the way he has handled the crisis. Evaluations of Mexican President Felipe Calderón are not as negative, although on balance more respondents disapprove (43%) than approve (25%) of his performance.

Muslim Opinion

Among the Muslim populations surveyed, Indonesia and Nigeria are the only countries in which most Muslims have a favorable view of the U.S. Seven-in-ten Nigerian Muslims express a positive opinion, up from 61% last year. The country’s Christian population continues to give the U.S. extremely high ratings – 92% offer a favorable opinion.

Overall, 39% of Lebanese Muslims have a favorable view of the U.S., but this masks deep divisions within the country’s Muslim population. Roughly three-in-four (74%) Lebanese Sunni Muslims express a positive opinion. While this is down from last year’s extraordinarily high 90%, it is still higher than in 2007 and 2008, and is a much more positive rating than the U.S. receives among the largely Sunni Arab populations of Egypt and Jordan. However, almost no Lebanese Shia Muslims (2%) have a positive opinion of the U.S. Meanwhile, 74% of Lebanese Christians have a favorable view, up from 66% in 2009.

Many in Muslim Countries Still See U.S. Threat

Majorities in all six predominantly Muslim nations surveyed say they are very or somewhat worried that the U.S. could pose a military threat to their country someday.

After dropping steeply between 2007 and 2009 in Jordan and Egypt, concerns about a U.S. threat have risen slightly in both countries this year. The trend has moved sharply in the opposite direction however, in Pakistan, where 65% see the U.S. as a potential military threat, down from 79% in 2009. Despite having relatively positive views of the U.S. on other measures, Indonesians continue to express a high degree of concern about a potential U.S. threat (76%).

Rating the American People

The American people receive largely positive ratings among the nations surveyed, with majorities or pluralities in 16 of 21 countries saying they have a favorable opinion of Americans.

Moreover, on balance, attitudes towards Americans have grown somewhat more positive in the last year. Among the 20 countries outside the U.S. where trends are available, favorable views of the American people have increased in nine countries, remained about the same in 10, and decreased in only one.

The largest increase took place in China, where positive views of Americans jumped from 42% in 2009 to 61% in this year’s poll. Sizeable increases also occurred in Poland (+8 percentage points), Russia (+7 points) and Spain (+7 points).

The only nation in which the image of the American people declined was in neighboring Mexico. Overall, 49% of Mexicans voice a positive opinion of Americans, down from 57% last year. Here again, Mexican public opinion was very different before and after the passage of the Arizona immigration law. Prior to the law’s enactment, 55% held a positive view of Americans, but this plummeted to 39% afterwards.

By far, Turks (16%) and Pakistanis (18%) give Americans their lowest favorability rating, and less than a majority express a positive opinion in Egypt (39%), Argentina (39%) and Jordan (44%).

Perceptions of U.S. Unilateralism

The belief that the U.S. tends to act unilaterally in world affairs remains widespread in this year’s survey. Majorities in only five nations say the U.S. takes into account the interests of countries like theirs when making foreign policy decisions.

The U.S. receives its most positive marks on this issue in India, where more than eight-in-ten (83%) say America considers the interests of countries like India a great deal or a fair amount.

In China, 76% believe the U.S. considers their interest when making foreign policy, up from 62% last year. Big majorities also hold this view in the African nations surveyed: Kenya (75%) and Nigeria (66%).

In no European country surveyed does a majority think the U.S. takes their interests into account. Between 2007 and 2009, the British, French and German publics became much more likely to believe the U.S. considers their interests. However, this view has become slightly less common in all three nations over the last year. The share of the public who think the U.S. considers their interests has dropped eight percentage points in Britain, seven in Germany, and five in France.

There are five countries where fewer than 20% believe the U.S. considers their interest: Pakistan (19%), Lebanon (19%), Argentina (16%), Egypt (15%) and Turkey (9%). This single-digit number in Turkey is down six percentage points since last year, and is as low as it was in 2003, shortly after the start of the Iraq war.

Americans tend to see this issue quite differently from much of the rest of the world. When asked how much their country takes into account the interests of other countries around the world, 76% of Americans say a great deal or a fair amount. This is little changed from last year, but is significantly higher than in 2007, when 59% of Americans expressed this opinion.

Views of U.S. Anti-Terror Efforts

Majorities in 12 of the 22 countries surveyed say they favor U.S.-led efforts to fight terrorism, including all four Western European countries. Support for American anti-terrorism efforts rose substantially in Western Europe between 2007 and 2009, and it remains high in this year’s poll, although support has declined a bit in Britain, France and Germany.

A similar pattern can be seen in India and China, where support for the U.S.-led anti-terrorism campaign increased sharply between 2007 and 2009, but has fallen significantly in the last year, dropping 17 percentage points in India and nine points in China.

Support for these efforts is consistently low in the Middle East and Turkey, as well as in Pakistan – a nation crucial to American efforts to combat al Qaeda and similar groups. Only 19% of Pakistanis say they favor U.S.-led anti-terrorism efforts, down from 24% last year.

U.S. anti-terrorism policies are widely endorsed in both Poland (70%) and Russia (70%), and in the latter support is up 16 percentage points from last year. Kenyans (75%) give these policies their highest level of approval outside the U.S. Two-thirds also favor these efforts in Nigeria, but there are major differences along religious lines. Among Nigerian Christians, 86% favor U.S.-led anti-terrorism efforts, while only 9% oppose them. There is less support among the country’s Muslim population (47% favor and 41% oppose).

War in Afghanistan

The war in Afghanistan remains unpopular in most of the nations surveyed. Majorities or pluralities in 16 of 22 countries believe U.S. and NATO forces should be withdrawn from Afghanistan as soon as possible. In six nations, majorities or pluralities say these troops should be kept there until the situation stabilizes.

Support for the war is especially low in predominantly Muslim nations, including Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan, and like Afghanistan, is facing serious security threats from the Taliban and other extremist groups. Only 7% of Pakistanis want the U.S. and NATO to keep troops in their neighboring country, while 65% call for a troop withdrawal and 28% offer no opinion.

Similarly, only 11% in NATO ally Turkey think coalition forces should remain in Afghanistan, while just 15% of Egyptians, 13% of Jordanians, and 21% of Lebanese hold this view. Even in Indonesia, where attitudes toward the U.S. and toward American foreign policy specifically are generally more positive than among other largely Muslim nations, only 19% want troops to stay.

The conflict is also unpopular elsewhere, including China (18% keep troops) and Japan (35%). On balance, however, South Koreans and Indians are more likely to favor retaining troops in Afghanistan than withdrawing them.

Americans are almost evenly divided on this issue: 48% want troops to stay, while 45% favor withdrawal. There are significant partisan differences, however: 65% of Republicans want to keep U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, compared with 50% of independents and only 36% of Democrats.

Overall, American support for the war has declined since last spring, when a 57%-majority favored staying in Afghanistan. But support is largely unchanged from a September 2009 Pew Global survey, conducted in the U.S. and in 13 European countries, when 50% said troops should stay until the situation is stabilized and 43% said they should be removed.⁴

A different trend is apparent among some of America’s key European allies. The fall 2009 survey found that support for the war had slipped in several major NATO nations between spring and fall 2009. But the current poll finds support rebounding a bit in Britain and France, where about half now say troops should stay, as well as in Spain and Poland, where roughly four-in-ten now hold this view.

Few See Stability Emerging in Iraq

Among the nations surveyed, there is relatively little optimism about Iraq’s political future.⁵ Majorities or pluralities in only seven of 22 nations believe efforts to establish a stable government in Iraq will definitely or probably succeed. In 12 nations, fewer people think these efforts will succeed than was the case last year; more people hold this view in two, while public opinion has remained essentially steady in six nations.

Turks, who share a border with Iraq, are the least optimistic: only 12% think efforts to establish a stable government will succeed. In Jordan, which also borders Iraq, the belief that these efforts will succeed has become much less common over the last year, decreasing from 50% to 36%. About four-in-ten hold this view in the two other Arab nations surveyed, Lebanon (43%) and Egypt (40%).

Western Europeans are consistently less optimistic about Iraq’s prospects than they were in 2009. The percentage saying a stable government will be established has declined significantly in Spain (-8 percentage points), Britain (-7 points), France (-7 points) and Germany (-7 points). There have been declines in other nations as well, including Nigeria (-22 points), China (-20 points), South Korea (-11 points), Argentina (-8 points) and Mexico (-8 points).

Americans are also slightly less hopeful about Iraq this year – 45% say they think efforts to create a stable government will be successful, down from 49% last year. Democrats (39% succeed) are less optimistic than independents (47%) or Republicans (51%).

American Religiosity

The survey finds a fair amount of cross-national agreement regarding one aspect of America’s image: its religiosity. When asked whether the U.S. is too religious or not religious enough, majorities or pluralities in 18 of 22 countries say it is not religious enough. This is especially true in all three Arab nations surveyed – Jordan (89%), Egypt (81%), and Lebanon (64%) – as well as in Indonesia (67%) and Pakistan (55%). Majorities also hold this view in India (57%), Brazil (55%), Mexico (56%), Kenya (53%) and Nigeria (57%).

The exceptions on this question are the economically advanced nations of Western Europe and Japan. In particular, the French are considerably more likely than others to see the U.S. as too religious (71%). More than four-in-ten feel this way in Britain (47%), Germany (46%) and Japan (42%). The Spanish are divided: 38% think the U.S. is too religious and 40% believe it is not religious enough.

Interestingly, the perception that the U.S. is an overly religious nation has become more common across all four Western European nations since the last time the Pew Global Attitudes Project asked this question in 2005, in the middle of the George W. Bush era.

Americans tend to disagree with their transatlantic allies on this question: 64% say their country is not religious enough, up from 58% in 2005. Republicans (81%) are especially likely to hold this view, although majorities of Democrats (60%) and independents (56%) agree.

Nearly two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, publics of former Iron Curtain countries generally look back approvingly at the collapse of communism. Majorities of people in most former Soviet republics and Eastern European countries endorse the emergence of multiparty systems and a free market economy.

However, the initial widespread enthusiasm about these changes has dimmed in most of the countries surveyed; in some, support for democracy and capitalism has diminished markedly. In many nations, majorities or pluralities say that most people were better off under communism, and there is a widespread view that the business class and political leadership have benefited from the changes more than ordinary people. Nonetheless, self reported life satisfaction has risen significantly in these societies compared with nearly two decades ago when the Times Mirror Center¹ first studied public opinion in the former Eastern bloc.

The acceptance of — and appetite for — democracy is much less evident today among the publics of the former Soviet republics of Russia and Ukraine, who lived the longest under communism. In contrast, Eastern Europeans, especially the Czechs and those in the former East Germany, are more accepting of the economic and societal upheavals of the past two decades. East Germans, in particular, overwhelmingly approve of the reunification of Germany, as do those living in what was West Germany. However, fewer east Germans now have very positive views of reunification than in mid-1991, when the benchmark surveys were conducted by the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press. And now, as then, many of those living in east Germany believe that unification happened too quickly.

One of the most positive trends in Europe since the fall of the Wall is a decline in ethnic hostilities among the people of former communist countries. In a number of nations, fewer citizens say they hold unfavorable views of ethnic minorities than did so in 1991. Nonetheless, sizable percentages of people in former communist countries continue to have unfavorable views of minority groups and neighboring nationalities. The new poll also finds Western Europeans in a number of cases are at least as hostile toward minorities as are Eastern Europeans. In particular, many in the West, especially in Italy and Spain, hold unfavorable views of Muslims.

Concern about Russia is another sentiment shared by both Eastern and Western Europeans. A majority of the French (57%) and 46% of Germans say Russia is having a bad influence on their countries; this view is shared by most Poles (59%) and sizable minorities in most other Eastern European countries. The exceptions are Bulgaria and Ukraine, where on balance Russia’s influence is seen as more positive than negative.

As for the Russians themselves, there has been an upsurge in nationalist sentiment since the early 1990s. A majority of Russians (54%) agree with the statement Russia should be for Russians; just 26% agreed with that statement in 1991. Moreover, even as they embrace free market capitalism, fully 58% of Russians agree that it is a great misfortune that the Soviet Union no longer exist. And nearly half (47%) say it is natural for Russia to have an empire.”

These are among the major findings of a new, 14-nation survey by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project that was conducted Aug. 27 through Sept. 24 among 14,760 adults. The survey, which includes nations in Eastern and Western Europe, as well as the United States, reexamines many of the key issues first explored in the 1991 survey conducted by the Times Mirror Center, the predecessor of the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

Varied Reactions to Democracy and Free Markets

While the current polling finds a broad endorsement for the demise of communism, reactions vary widely among and within countries. In east Germany and the Czech Republic, there is considerable support for the shift to both a multiparty system and a free market economy. The Poles and Slovaks rank next in terms of acceptance. In contrast, somewhat fewer Hungarians, Bulgarians, Russians and Lithuanians say they favor the changes to the political and economic systems they have experienced, although majorities or pluralities endorse the changes. Ukraine is the only country included in the survey where more disapprove than approve of the changes to a multiparty system and market economy.

In Hungary, there is clear frustration with the current state of democracy, despite the public’s acceptance of the shift to a multiparty system. More than three-quarters of Hungarians (77%) are dissatisfied with the way democracy is working in their country. This may be due in part to an overwhelmingly dismal national mood: About nine-in-ten think the country is on the wrong track (91%) and that the economy is in bad shape (94%). Disenchantment with political elites is especially strong in Hungary, where only 38% believe voting gives them a say in politics. And even more than other publics included in the survey, Hungarians are frustrated by the gap between what they want from democracy — such as a free press, free speech and competitive elections — and what they believe they currently have.

Across virtually all of these former communist countries, with the notable exception of the former East Germany, the patterns of acceptance of political and economic changes mirror what was evident from the very start of the political and economic upheavals of two decades ago. Younger, better educated and urban people tend to be more accepting of changes and register greater gains in life satisfaction than do older people, the less well educated and those living in rural areas.

In Russia, for example, majorities of those younger than 50 years of age approve of the changes to a multiparty system and a free market system. But older people are far less approving; among those ages 65 and older, just 27% express positive views of each of these changes. Similar disparities in acceptance are evident by education in Russia and among most of the other former communist publics surveyed.

That is not the case, however, in the former East Germany, where both older and younger people — as well as the better educated and less educated — overwhelmingly endorse the political and economic changes they have experienced. And while about as many east Germans say their former country was overwhelmed and taken by West Germany as said this in 1991, an increasing proportion of east Germans say that reunification has improved their lives. Fully 63% of those questioned now say their lives are better as a result of unification; just 48% felt that way in 1991. Moreover, about eight-in-ten of those living in the former East Germany say they favor the unification of Germany. Those in the former West Germany are equally accepting of unification.

Life Gets Better Ratings

Opinions among east Germans about the impact of unification on their lives are consistent with one of the most striking trends observed in the new survey. People in former communist countries now rate their lives markedly higher than they did in 1991, when they were still coming to grips with the massive changes then taking place. This is true even in countries where overall levels of satisfaction with life — as well as positive assessments of political and economic changes — are significantly lower than in the most upbeat of the nations surveyed.

Czechs, Poles, Slovaks and east Germans report the most satisfaction with their lives and posted the greatest gains over the past two decades. Russians, Ukrainians and Lithuanians also judge their personal well-being much better than they once did, and they view their lives more positively than do Hungarians and Bulgarians. However, even those two downbeat publics show improvements in self-assessments of life compared with 1991.

While the current survey finds people in former communist countries feeling better about their lives than they did in 1991, the increases in personal progress have been uneven demographically, as has been acceptance of economic and political change. There are now wide age gaps in reports of life satisfaction. In Poland, for example, half of those younger than age 30 rate their lives highly, compared with just 29% of those ages 65 and older. These gaps were not evident in 1991, when all age groups expressed comparably negative views of their lives. The same pattern is evident among all of the former communist publics surveyed.

An urban-rural gap also is evident in life satisfaction in two principal republics of the former Soviet Union included in the poll — Russia and Ukraine — as well as in Bulgaria and Hungary. In Ukraine, for example, 30% of urban dwellers express high satisfaction with their lives, compared with just 17% of those residing in rural areas. These disparities in reports of well-being were not apparent two decades ago. Then, on average, people were less happy, but there were no significant demographic differences in their opinions.

The demographic gaps in well-being among the publics of former Iron Curtain countries were suggested by reactions to the end of communism two decades ago. It was the young, the better educated and the urban populations who were cheering. How older, less well educated and rural people would adapt was then identified as one of the principal challenges to acceptance of democracy and capitalism. This remains the case, especially in Russia and Ukraine, where people who now rate their lives well voice the strongest support for democratic values, while those less satisfied are the least disposed to the new values.

Indeed, the prevailing view in Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Hungary is that people were better off economically under communism. Only in the Czech Republic and Poland do pluralities believe that most people are now better off. Furthermore, the consensus in many of these countries is that ordinary people have benefited far less than have business owners and politicians.

Nonetheless, many people in former communist countries broadly endorse the free market economy. This is particularly the case in countries where sizable numbers of people rate their lives better than they did in surveys two decades ago. But in countries where people do not register as much progress since 1991, there is much less unanimity about the benefits of the free market.

Acceptance of Democratic Values

The survey also shows substantial differences in acceptance of democratic values among people in former communist countries. While majorities in most countries approve of the transition to a multiparty system, it remains a rocky transition in many countries. The appeal of a strong leader over a democratic form of government is evident in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Hungary. Only in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the former East Germany do most people believe that a democratic form of government is the best way to solve the country’s problems.

The embrace of political rights and civil liberties is also varied and disparate across countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. On every dimension studied, more people say they value these rights and liberties than say they enjoy them.

A fair judiciary is the value most prized in the former communist countries surveyed. And in every country in the region, large numbers say that right does not prevail. Freedom of speech, a free press and even honest elections are given somewhat lower priority in most societies, especially Russia.

Frustrations with the democratic experience are clearly evident in a number of countries. In Hungary, relatively large numbers prize the ability to criticize the state and want press freedom and honest elections, but only small percentages say these conditions prevail. In Ukraine, where support for democracy is tenuous by many standards, very few say that honest elections or a fair judicial system describe their country well.

A general conclusion that can be drawn from the poll’s results suggests that Russians express the least enthusiasm for democratic values, while the most acceptance is expressed by those in the former East Germany, closely followed by the Poles and Czechs.

Corruption, Crime Concerns Widespread

There is a good deal of agreement across former Eastern bloc publics concerning the major problems facing their countries. As might be expected, large majorities express negative views of their economies, but this also is the case for Western Europeans and Americans. In fact, of the 14 publics included in the survey, the Poles render the most positive economic report: 38% describe their country’s economy as very or somewhat good.

Beyond the economy, crime, corruption and drugs are widely seen as major problems in each of the former communist countries surveyed. The environment, the poor quality of schools, and the spread of AIDS and other infectious disease are also common concerns in all countries.

Concerns about people leaving the country are especially high in the former East Germany, Bulgaria and Lithuania. Throughout Eastern Europe, people generally express more concern about emigration than immigration. However, relatively few Russians cite emigration as a major problem. The Russians express greater concern about terrorism than any other Eastern European public.

Views of Minorities and Ethnic Conflicts

Conflict among ethnic groups is viewed as a problem in several former communist countries, especially Russia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. These tensions are reflected in the relatively large percentages that hold unfavorable opinions of minority groups within their countries. However, in almost all nations, less hostility is expressed toward most minority groups and other nationalities than in 1991.

The Roma, or Gypsies, continue to stand out as the most widely disliked ethnic group. More than eight-in-ten Czechs (84%) hold an unfavorable view of them, as do 78% of Slovaks and 69% of Hungarians. Many of the expressed antagonisms reflect historic enmity with neighboring peoples, or long-standing dislike of religious or ethnic minorities. In Hungary, 33% have an unfavorable opinion of Romanians, and 29% say they dislike Jews. Many Poles have a negative opinion of Russians (41%), Ukrainians (35%) and Jews (29%). A sizable number of Lithuanians hold unfavorable views of Poles (21%), but many more dislike Jews (37%). More than one-in-four Slovaks (27%) express a negative opinion of Jews.

Czechs are well liked in Slovakia and vice versa. However, Czechs and Slovaks have differing views of the breakup of Czechoslovakia — on balance, Slovaks think the split was a good thing by a margin of 49% to 39%; Czechs, by a margin of 53% to 40%, mostly think it was a bad idea.

Ukrainians have an overwhelmingly positive view of Russians living in their country (84%), but many fewer like Georgians (54%). A significant number of Russians (32%) have an unfavorable view of Ukrainians residing in Russia, but even more give Georgians a negative rating (53%).

Dislike of minority groups is not limited to Eastern Europeans. Roughly a quarter of the French have an unfavorable opinion of North Africans, which is comparable to negative opinions of Muslims in Britain (27%) and Turks in Germany (30%). In the West, Italians hold the most negative views toward minority groups — 69% say they dislike Muslims and 84% have negative views of the Roma. Negative views toward these two groups run high in Spain as well — 46% have an unfavorable opinion of Muslims and 45% say this about Roma.

Concerns About Russia

Views of Russia differ widely across the surveyed countries. Many of Russia’s neighbors in Eastern Europe see its influence as a bad thing, perhaps reflecting concern over resurgent nationalism in Russia.

Nearly six-in-ten Poles (59%) see Russia’s influence as negative, the highest percentage of any country in the region. In the Czech Republic, Hungary and Lithuania, pluralities see the Russian influence on their countries as a bad thing. In contrast, more Bulgarians and Ukrainians see Russia’s impact as positive than negative. In Western Europe, the balance of opinion is that Russian influence is negative, although many in Spain and Britain have no opinion on the subject.

Wider Values Divides

The long-existing transatlantic divide in attitudes toward the role of the state in society has grown over the past two decades. In nine of the 13 European countries surveyed, fewer people today than in 1991 think that people should be free to pursue their life’s goals without interference from the state. Only in Britain and Italy have the proportions expressing this view increased. However, Italians and the British are still more supportive of an active role for the state in society than are Americans. The least support for a laissez-faire government is in Lithuania (17%) and in Bulgaria (23%).

Similarly, while Europeans are generally less fatalistic than they were in 1991, Americans remain far more individualistic than Europeans. Fewer than a third (29%) of Americans surveyed believe success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside their control. Majorities in 10 of the 13 European countries surveyed think they have little control over their fate. Publics in nine of the 13 European nations surveyed are more individualistic today than they were in 1991.

Views of the EU and NATO

European opinion of the European Union is generally good, but, in the wake of the recent economic crisis, there is some evidence of disgruntlement. While two-thirds of the Spanish (67%) and more than six-in-ten Germans (63%) and Poles (63%) think their country’s EU membership is a good thing, only a slim majority (54%) of the French and a plurality of the Italians (47%) agree.

Frustration with the EU is greatest in Hungary, where only one-in-five people (20%) think their country’s membership has been a good thing and about seven-in-ten (71%) say their economy has been weakened by European economic integration. A strong majority of Bulgarians (63%), as well as 55% in France, 54% in Britain, and a plurality in Italy (41%) agree that their country has been weakened economically by integration.

British wariness of the Brussels-based European Union persists and could be worsening. The British are evenly split on whether membership in the European club is a good thing. And the proportion of the British population that thinks the EU has had a good influence on the way things are going in their country is lower in 2009 than in 2002. That is also the case in France and Italy.

Since the 1991 Times Mirror Center survey, the European Union has grown from 12 nations to 27. Support for further enlargement among the publics in the 11 EU member states surveyed is mixed. Large majorities favor Iceland’s EU membership within the next decade. And backing of Croatia’s application is almost as strong. Smaller majorities or pluralities in most countries also support membership ambitions by Ukraine, Serbia and Georgia.

The weakest backing and the strongest opposition is for Turkey’s long-standing effort to join the union. Notably, in Germany, the EU’s richest member and long the paymaster of EU enlargement, majorities oppose EU membership not only for Turkey but also for Georgia, Serbia and Ukraine.

NATO, the transatlantic security organization that celebrated its 60th anniversary this year, draws favorable reviews in the 12 NATO member countries surveyed.

Notably, slightly more than half of Americans (53%) express a favorable opinion of NATO — the lowest percentage among NATO countries surveyed.

Finally, while NATO is committed to eventual membership for Ukraine, majorities in only three of the 12 NATO members surveyed support such inclusion in the next 10 years. About half of Ukrainians (51%) themselves actually oppose joining. Also, majorities in both Ukraine (51%) and Russia (58%) express unfavorable opinions of NATO.

In addition to an age gap, there is also a significant gender gap in most nations over religion’s importance. Women are consistently more likely than men to describe religion as very important to them. The largest gender gap on the survey appears in the U.S., where 65% of women consider religion very important, compared with just 44% of men.

Generally, there is a clear relationship between wealth and religiosity: in rich nations fewer people view religion as important than in poor nations. In the current survey, people who live in the poorest nations almost unanimously say religion is important to them, while the citizens of Western Europe and other wealthy nations tend to say it plays a less significant role. However, Americans – who tend to be religious despite their country’s wealth – continue to be a major exception to this pattern.

Muslim respondents consistently rate religion an important part of their lives, and traditional Islamic practices – such as praying five times a day and fasting during Ramadan – are common among the Muslim publics surveyed.

Importance of Religion

Majorities say religion is very or somewhat important in their personal lives in 17 of the 23 nations where the question was asked. In 14 countries, more than three-quarters of those surveyed say religion is important, and in eight countries it is more than 90%.

Moreover, in 12 nations, majorities say religion is very important. In Indonesia, Tanzania, Pakistan and Nigeria, more than nine-in-ten say it is very important.

Consistently, Muslim respondents say religion is central to their lives. Even in Turkey, a Muslim nation with a strong tradition of secularism, 94% say it is important. In the Arab nations of Jordan (99% important) and Egypt (97%), the numbers are even more overwhelming. Overall, Lebanese are slightly less likely to hold this view, although it is more common among the country’s Sunni (98%) and Shia (82%) Muslims than among Lebanese Christians (67%).

Nearly all Indonesians (99%) and Pakistanis (98%) surveyed consider religion important. Elsewhere in the Asia and Pacific region, about nine-in-ten (89%) in predominantly Hindu India rate religion important. The picture is quite different, however, in the more economically advanced nations of Japan (41% important), South Korea (45%) and Australia (46%).

More than eight-in-ten consider religion important in the African and Latin American countries surveyed, with the exception of Argentina, where a sizeable minority (30%) says religion is not significant in their lives.

Religion is generally less central to the lives of Europeans. Poland is the only European country in which more than six-in-ten consider religion important. And in three nations – France, Britain, and Spain – majorities say religion is not important in their lives.

On this measure, the United States differs considerably from Western Europe and other economically advanced nations. About eight-in-ten Americans (82%) say religion is important, and most (55%) consider it very important.

Wealth and Religiosity

The extent to which the United States differs from other wealthy nations in Europe and elsewhere can be demonstrated by examining the relationship between a country’s wealth and people’s views about the importance of religion.⁴ Generally, religion plays a much less central role in the lives of individuals in high income countries. This can be seen in the relative unimportance of religion in Western Europe, as well as in Australia and Japan, all of which cluster near the bottom right of the chart on the following page, indicating high levels of wealth and low ratings for the importance of religion.

In contrast, nearly all respondents consider religion important in the survey’s poorest countries, such as Tanzania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Jordan, which tend to cluster near the upper left of the chart. Meanwhile, in “middle income” nations such as Poland, Argentina, and Russia, religion is neither as central to the lives of people as in poorer countries, nor as unimportant as in much of Western Europe. Across the 23 countries where this question was asked, there is a strong negative correlation (-.80) between the percentage of people saying religion is important and a country’s wealth, measured in terms of purchasing power parity.

The clear exception to this pattern is the United States, which is a much more religious country than its degree of prosperity would suggest. Despite its wealth, the United States is in the middle of the global pack when it comes to the importance of religion. Indeed, on this question, the U.S. is closer to considerably less developed nations such as India, Brazil and Lebanon than to other western nations.

Younger People Less Religious

In most countries surveyed, younger people are less likely to say religion is central to their lives. In countries from nearly every region, persons under age 40 are generally less likely to consider religion very important to them.

This is true in the United States, where just under half of 18-39 year-olds (48%) say religion is very important, compared with majorities of those age 40-59 (55%) and those ages 60 and older (64%).

There are age gaps regarding the importance of religion in several European countries as well, especially Poland, which is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. While 49% of Poles ages 60 and older say religion is very important, considerably fewer 40-59 year-olds (29%) and 18-39 year-olds (20%) express this view.

Young people are also less religious in another traditionally Catholic European nation: Spain. Just 9% of Spaniards under age 40 consider religion very important, compared with 21% of those ages 40 to 59 and 30% of those 60 and older.

Large age gaps also exist outside of Europe and the U.S. In Latin America, a solid majority (57%) of Argentines older than 60 describe religion as a very important part of their lives, but only 43% of 40-59 year-olds and 27% of those younger than 40 do so. More than three-in-four (77%) older Mexicans say religion is very important, compared with 61% of those in the middle age category and about half (52%) of younger Mexicans.

Age differences over religion’s importance do not exist everywhere, however. In Indonesia and Pakistan, at least 95% of people both under 40 and over 40 agree that religion is very important. The three African nations on the survey also stand out for their lack of an age gap. For instance, roughly eight-in-ten South Africans rate religion as very important in all three age groups.

The Religion Gender Gap

Women are consistently more likely than men to rate religion as very important in their lives. The gender gap is especially pronounced in the United States. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of American women consider religion very important, a view shared by only 44% of men.

Women are significantly more likely than men to consider religion very significant in all three Latin American countries on the poll: Argentina (a 16 percentage point gap), Mexico (16 points) and Brazil (11 points).

Double-digit gaps over religion’s importance exist in several other countries as well: Poland (12 points), South Africa (12 points), Spain (11 points), Russia (10 points) and Lebanon (10 points).

The gender gap over religion’s importance is smaller or even non-existent in some of the poorest nations in the survey: India, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, Indonesia and Tanzania.

Prayer in Non-Muslim Countries

In addition to generally considering religion more important, Americans also say they pray more often than do others in the West. A majority of Americans (54%) report praying at least once a day, while one-in-three say they do so several times per day. Only 11% of Americans say they never pray.

Prayer is much less common in Europe. Even in Poland, only 32% say they pray at least once each day. Among the publics included in the survey, the French are the least likely to pray – only 10% say they pray once a day or more, and fully 60% never pray.

At least four-in-ten also report never praying in Britain and Spain, as well as in Australia, South Korea, and Japan.

By contrast, more people in developing countries say they pray frequently. In Nigeria, for example 56% of non-Muslims pray several times a day and another 21% report doing so once a day.

Prayer and Fasting in Muslim Nations

Overall, prayer is more common among the Muslim publics surveyed than among non-Muslim publics. The ritual prayer, or “salat,” is one of the five major pillars of Islam, and in five of the eight countries with sizable Muslim populations, most Muslims say they pray five times a day.

While a solid majority of non-Muslims in Nigeria pray several times a day, praying is much more common among Nigerian Muslims. Fully nine-in-ten (90%) Nigerian Muslims pray five times each day. Large majorities of Muslims also follow this practice in Indonesia (80%) and Jordan (71%).

Fewer than half of Muslims in Pakistan (46%), Lebanon (45%), and Turkey (34%) pray five times per day. In Lebanon, this practice is more common among Sunnis (63%) than among Shia Muslims (35%).

The percentage of Muslims who practice another of Islam’s five pillars, fasting during Ramadan, varies considerably across nations. Once more, Nigeria exhibits the highest level of religiosity – 73% of Nigerian Muslims fast during all days of Ramadan and other religious holidays. Tanzania is the only other country in which most Muslims fast during all days of Ramadan. Fasting is least common in Turkey (only 20% fast all days) and Pakistan (16%).

However, large majorities in all Muslim publics, including Turkey, report fasting at least most days during Ramadan. And very few Muslims report “hardly ever” fasting – at just 13%, Lebanese Muslims are the most likely to say they hardly ever fast.

Ethnocentric attitudes are on the rise in Europe. Growing numbers of people in several major European countries say they have an unfavorable opinion of Jews, and opinions of Muslims also are more negative than they were several years ago.

A spring 2008 survey by the Pew Research Center’s Pew Global Attitudes Project finds 46% of the Spanish rating Jews unfavorably. More than a third of Russians (34%) and Poles (36%) echo this view. Somewhat fewer, but still significant numbers of the Germans (25%) and French (20%) interviewed also express negative opinions of Jews. These percentages are all higher than obtained in comparable Pew surveys taken in recent years. In a number of countries, the increase has been especially notable between 2006 and 2008.

Great Britain stands out as the only European country included in the survey where there has not been a substantial increase in anti-Semitic attitudes. Just 9% of the British rate Jews unfavorably, which is largely unchanged from recent years. And relatively small percentages in both Australia (11%) and the United States (7%) continue to view Jews unfavorably.

Opinions about Muslims in almost all of these countries are considerably more negative than are views of Jews. Fully half of Spanish (52%) and German respondents (50%) rate Muslims unfavorably. Opinions about Muslims are somewhat less negative in Poland (46%) and considerably less negative in France (38%). About one-in-four in Britain and the United States (23% each) also voice unfavorable views of Muslims. Overall, there is a clear relationship between anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim attitudes: publics that view Jews unfavorably also tend to see Muslims in a negative light.

The trend in negative views toward Muslims in Europe has occurred over a longer period of time than growing anti-Jewish sentiment. Most of the upswing took place between 2004 and 2006, and there has even been a slight decrease in some countries since 2006.

Negative attitudes toward Christians in Europe are less common than negative ratings of Muslims or Jews. And views about Christians have remained largely stable in recent years, although anti-Christian sentiments have been on the rise in Spain – about one-in-four Spanish (24%) now rate Christians negatively, up from 10% in 2005. Similarly, in France 17% now hold an unfavorable view of Christians, compared with 9% in 2004.

A notable parallel between anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish opinion in Western Europe is that both sentiments are most prevalent among the same groups of people. Older people and those with less education are more anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim than are younger people or those with more education. Looking at combined data from France, Germany and Spain – the three Western European countries where unfavorable opinions of Jews are most common – people ages 50 and older express more negative views of both Jews and Muslims than do those younger than 50. Similarly, Europeans who have not attended college are consistently more likely than those who have to hold unfavorable opinions of both groups.

There are some political parallels too. Anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish opinions are most prevalent among Europeans on the political right. For example, among respondents from France, Germany and Spain who place themselves on the political right, 56% express a negative view of Muslims, compared with 42% of those on the left and 45% of those in the center. Similarly, 34% of people on the political right have a negative opinion of Jews, compared with 28% of those on the left and 26% of centrists.

These are among the latest findings from the 2008 Pew Global Attitudes survey. The current report focuses on findings related to religion, and several sections are devoted specifically to issues among Muslim publics. The polling was conducted March-April 2008 in 24 countries from regions throughout the world.¹

Widespread Religiosity

In most of the countries included in the survey, religion is considered a central feature of life. However, this is often less true among younger people. In many nations, including the United States, people under age 40 are less likely than others to say religion is very important to them.

And there is also a notable gender gap in many nations regarding religion’s importance. Consistently, women are more likely than men to say religion plays a very important role in their lives. Among the countries on the survey, the largest gender gap is in the United States, where 65% of women rate religion as very important, compared with only 44% of men.

Muslim Views On Terrorism

The decline in support for terrorism observed in Pew Global Attitudes surveys over the last few years continues this year among Muslims in Nigeria, Turkey and Pakistan. Elsewhere, there has been virtually no change, or in the case of Egypt, a slight increase in support for terrorism.

Since 2002, the percentage saying that suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilians are justified to defend Islam from its enemies has declined in most predominantly Muslim countries surveyed. For instance, in 2002 roughly three-in-four Lebanese Muslims (74%) said such attacks could often or sometimes be justified; today, 32% take this view.

Opinions about Osama bin Laden have followed a similar trend. For instance, only three years ago, about six-in-ten (61%) Jordanian Muslims voiced at least some confidence in the al Qaeda leader; today, just 19% express a positive view. In 2003, 20% of Lebanese Muslims and 15% of Turkish Muslims had positive views of bin Laden. Today, seven years after the September 11 attacks, bin Laden’s ratings have plummeted to the low single digits in both countries (Turkey 3%, Lebanon 2%). Still, substantial numbers of Muslims continue to express confidence in bin Laden in Nigeria (58%), Indonesia (37%) and Pakistan (34%).

Conflict in the Muslim World

Most Muslims in the nations surveyed by Pew continue to worry about the rise of Islamic extremism, both at home and abroad. Majorities in Indonesia, Pakistan, Tanzania, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Nigeria say they are concerned about extremism in their own country and in other countries around the world.

Many are also concerned about growing tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims. There is a widespread perception that Sunni-Shia tensions are not limited to Iraq and instead are a broader problem affecting the Muslim world more generally.

Large numbers of Muslims in several countries surveyed also see a struggle taking place within their countries between Islamic fundamentalists and those who want to modernize the nation. In Turkey, in particular, a large and growing majority sees such a conflict taking place, but this view also is common in Lebanon, Tanzania, Indonesia and Pakistan.

Additional Findings

• France stands out as the most secular nation included in the survey. Only one-in-ten in that country consider religion very important in their lives and 60% say they never pray.
• While European views towards Jews have become more negative, the deepest anti-Jewish sentiments exist outside of Europe, especially in predominantly Muslim nations. The percentage of Turks, Egyptians, Jordanians, Lebanese and Pakistanis with favorable opinions of Jews is in the single digits.
• Two pillars of Islam are commonly practiced by the Muslims surveyed: prayer and fasting. Majorities in most of the eight Muslim publics included pray five times a day and fast most days of Ramadan.
• Views of Hamas tend to be negative in Lebanon, Turkey, and Egypt. Jordan is the only predominantly Muslim country surveyed in which a majority express a positive view of the militant Palestinian organization.
• Views of the militant Lebanese Shia organization Hezbollah are overwhelmingly negative in Turkey, while slim majorities in Egypt and Jordan express positive views of Hezbollah. In Lebanon itself, Hezbollah is almost unanimously popular among the country’s Shia community, but is overwhelmingly unpopular among Sunnis and Christians.
• Saudi Arabia receives positive ratings from most of the publics in the predominantly Muslim countries surveyed, although Turkey is an exception; 43% of Turks express an unfavorable view of Saudi Arabia, while just 36% hold a favorable view.

As he tours Washington and New York on his first visit to the United States since ascending to the papacy, Pope Benedict XVI will be greeted by a Catholic population that, while undergoing rapid ethnic and demographic changes within itself,¹ continues to occupy a unique spot in the global Catholic community. Generally less religious than their fellow Catholics in the developing world, and generally more religious than those in Europe, American Catholics occupy something of a middle ground in a faith that is often pulled in opposing directions by its diverse constituencies across the globe.

Comparing Catholics Around the World

Rome may remain the organizational and symbolic hub of Catholicism, but in many ways the center of the faith has been gravitating southward for decades. As Europeans increasingly turn away from the Church, religious commitment remains relatively strong among Catholics in regions such as Latin America. The 2007 Pew Global Attitudes survey explored religious views around the world, and the findings shed some light on the sharp differences among followers of Catholicism. Faith plays a much more central role in the lives of Latin American Catholics than among those from Europe. Meanwhile, American Catholics stand squarely in the center.

In order to compare the religiosity of Catholic publics in Europe, Latin America, and the U.S., we constructed an index based on three questions: whether faith in God is necessary for living a moral life, the importance of religion in respondents’ lives, and a how often respondents pray.² The scale ranges from “0,” the least religious position, to “3,” the most religious position. Among the 13 nations included in the analysis, Brazilian Catholics have the highest religiosity score (2.45), and the top six spots all belong to Latin American countries.

Western European Catholics are the least religious, especially the French (.33), although scores are also relatively low in Germany (1.01), birthplace of Pope Benedict, and Italy (.81), birthplace of more popes than any other country. Catholics from the Eastern European nations of Poland and Slovakia have somewhat higher scores than their Western European co-religionists, but about the same as Argentina, the outlier among Latin American nations.

American Catholics (1.26) are right in the middle — six countries have higher scores than the U.S. and six have lower scores. On this measure, American Catholics are more religious than all five European countries, including Poland, a country known for its strong commitment to Catholicism and home to former Pope John Paul II. Meanwhile, the U.S. has a lower score than six of the seven Latin American countries.

Moreover, on each of the three items that comprise the scale, American Catholics also stand near the center of global Catholic opinion. About half of Catholics in the U.S. think it is necessary to believe in God in order to be a moral person, pray at least once a day, and say religion is very important in their lives.

Brazilian Catholics emerge as the most religious on all three measures, while Italy and France have the least religious Catholic populations. Only 17% of French Catholics say faith is necessary for morality; 13% pray a least once per day; and just 12% consider religion very important to their life.

Wealth and Religion

Previous analyses of the Pew data highlighted the strong relationship between a country’s level of wealth and its level of religiosity — in general, richer countries are less religious.³ And, as the chart below illustrates, this same pattern holds true when looking only at Catholic populations. In the 13 countries included in this analysis, there is a strong negative correlation (-.66) between a country’s wealth (measured by purchasing power parity) and the degree of religiosity among its Catholics.

Latin American Catholics tend to cluster in the upper left of the chart, indicating their low levels of wealth and high levels of religiosity, while those in Western Europe show up in the lower right as the result of their prosperity and lower scores on the religiosity index. Most countries appear in the chart about where their stage of economic development would predict. For example, on this chart, Argentina does not look like an outlier; instead, it falls precisely where it should given its comparative wealth in relation to other Latin American nations.

Still, there are a few countries that do not closely fit the pattern. Brazilian Catholics are somewhat more religious than their national income would lead you to expect, while the French are even less religious than their comparative prosperity would predict. But the biggest outlier is the United States. American Catholics live in a country that is significantly wealthier than even the economically advanced nations of Western Europe, so in theory the U.S. should appear near the bottom right of this chart. Instead, the U.S. occupies a unique space, the only Catholics in the study who are both wealthy and religious.

In this way, American Catholics are a lot like other Americans, who also tend to be more religious than the country’s affluence would predict. The enduring centrality of religion in American life sets this country apart from many other economically advanced nations, particularly those in Western Europe. On many issues, Americans continue to share values with their traditional transatlantic allies, but when it comes to matters of faith, Americans — including American Catholics — often have more in common with those outside of Europe.

America More Religious Than Other Wealthy Nations

Throughout much of the world, there is a strong link between wealth and religiosity, with religion playing a much less central role in the lives of people in richer countries. In poor countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, religion remains extremely important in the lives of individuals, while in wealthy nations, secularism is more common. One very wealthy nation, however, does not fit the pattern: the United States. Americans are considerably more religious than their level of prosperity would predict.

To examine the relationship between wealth and religious belief, a three-item index was created, with “3” representing the most religious position. Respondents were given a “1” if they believe faith in God is necessary for morality; a “1” if they say religion is very important in their lives; and a “1” if they pray at least once a day.

Consistently, poor countries receive higher scores on the scale, with Senegal (mean of 2.81) and Indonesia (2.81) receiving the highest scores of all. On the other hand, wealthy countries tend to receive lower scores. The six relatively rich Western European countries, for instance, are among the most secular included in the survey, and with a mean score of .24, Sweden is the most secular. Other wealthy nations, such as Canada, Japan and Israel, also have low levels of religiosity.

However, the wealthiest nation of all, the United States, is in the middle of the pack on the religiosity index. The level of religiosity in the U.S. is similar to less economically developed countries, such as Mexico, Venezuela and Lebanon.

Oil-rich and predominantly Muslim Kuwait is another country with a much higher level of religiosity than its economic situation would predict. This also is true of Malaysia and South Africa. Meanwhile, the formerly communist nations of Eastern Europe are somewhat less religious than might be expected based on their per capita GDPs.

Americans More Individualistic

Individualism has long been considered a core American value, and as this survey highlights, a widespread belief in individual responsibility sets Americans apart from much of the world. Along with their Canadian neighbors, Americans are more likely than other publics included in the survey to disagree (64%) with the notion that success in life is determined by forces outside of our control.

American views vary somewhat, however, according to partisanship and income. Just over four-in-ten Democrats (42%) agree with the idea that success is determined by outside forces, compared with 29% of independents and 22% of Republicans. People with household incomes below $30,000 (44%) are more likely than those earning $30,000-74,999 (31%) or those with incomes of $75,000 or more (21%) to say that success is often beyond control of the individual.

Outside of North America, there are large variations within regions. In Western Europe, 71% of Italians say success depends on forces outside of a person’s control, but only 33% of Swedes agree. In Asia, eight-in-ten Bangladeshis and Indians agree with this perspective, while the Japanese, Malaysians, and Indonesians are roughly split on this question. And in the Middle East, while 69% of Lebanese feel success in life is often beyond a person’s control, but this view is shared by only 37% of Egyptians.

Since 2002, the percentage of people who agree with the notion that success is beyond an individual’s control has increased in 13 countries, remained basically the same in 15, and declined in seven. Declines in agreement have been particularly steep in Lebanon (-12 percentage points) and Ivory Coast (-10), two countries that have experienced considerable turmoil and violence in recent years.

U.S. More Likely To See Force as Necessary

Americans are among the most likely to believe military force is sometimes required in world affairs. More than three-in-four Americans (77%) agree with the statement, “It is sometimes necessary to use military force to maintain order in the world,” and 35% completely agree with this perspective. And despite sharp divisions along party lines over the current conflict in Iraq, partisan differences on this question are relatively muted. Republicans (90%) are more likely to believe military force is sometimes justified, but even among Democrats (73%) and independents (77%), large majorities agree with this position.

Especially when compared to publics of NATO allies, Americans are more likely to think military force is sometimes needed. Turkey is the only other NATO country in the survey where a similar share of the public completely agrees with this principle.

In Germany, where an aversion to military force has been widespread since the end of World War II, nearly six-in-ten (58%) reject the notion that war is necessary to keep order, setting Germans apart from their fellow Western Europeans. Similar attitudes are found in other nations as well, including Egypt (59%), Jordan (58%) and South Korea (53%).

Overall, however, there is a consensus among most of the publics surveyed that military force is sometimes justified. In 39 of 47 countries, a majority agree that order must occasionally be maintained through military force. The countries most likely to agree with this principle include several that have been deeply involved in military conflicts in recent years, such as Kuwait, the United States, and Israel, as well as several that have not, including Brazil and Sweden. Publics in longtime rivals India (90%) and Pakistan (72%) are also among the most likely to agree that military force is sometimes necessary.

Cultural Superiority

Americans are also more likely than most Western Europeans to think their culture is better than others. Over half of Americans (55%) agree with the statement, “Our people are not perfect, but our culture is superior to others,” a larger percentage than in Canada, Spain, Germany, France, Britain and Sweden. But Italians are even more confident than Americans in their cultural pre-eminence; 68% of Italians believe their culture is superior.

In the context of all 47 nations, however, Italians are in the middle of the pack. The belief in a country’s cultural superiority is common across all regions. Germany, France, Britain and Sweden are the only countries where more than half disagree with this notion, and in 20 countries more than seven-in-ten agree their culture is best.

However, in the relatively wealthy and secular nations of Western Europe, large majorities suggest that morality is possible without faith and believe homosexuality should be accepted. The belief that moral values do not require faith is also common in formerly communist Eastern Europe, but attitudes in the region toward homosexuality are more mixed.

In the Americas, including the United States, views on these issues are also mixed. And in many countries, there is a significant age gap, with younger people significantly more likely to reject the notion that morality requires a belief in God, and considerably more likely to be tolerant of homosexuality.

A global consensus does emerge, however, regarding the separation of religion and the state. In nearly every country surveyed, majorities agree that religion is a matter of personal faith that should be unconnected to government policies.

Finally, as the survey reveals, many in the Muslim world see a struggle taking place between fundamentalists and those who want to modernize their countries.

Is Faith Necessary for Morality?

Throughout most of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, there is widespread agreement that faith in God is a prerequisite for morality. For example, in all 10 African countries included in the study, at least seven-in-ten respondents agree with the statement “It is necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values.” In Egypt, no one in the sample of 1,000 people disagrees. Out of the 1,000 Jordanians interviewed, only one person suggests it is possible to not believe in God and still be a moral person.

In the four predominantly Muslim Asian countries – Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Malaysia – huge majorities also believe morality requires faith in God. Elsewhere in Asia, however, opinions are a bit more mixed. Majorities in Japan and China, as well as substantial minorities of Indians and South Koreans, reject the notion that believing in God is required for morality.

In Arab countries there is a strong consensus that faith is necessary, although in Lebanon there are substantial differences among the country’s three major religious communities – Shia Muslims (81% agree), Christians (65%), and Sunni Muslims (54%). In neighboring Israel, a slim majority (55%) think faith in God is not necessary for moral values.
In Europe, the consensus view is just the opposite: throughout Western and Eastern Europe, majorities say faith in God is not a precondition for morality. This is true across Europe, regardless of whether a country’s primary religious tradition is Protestant, Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. And it is true regardless of which side of the Iron Curtain a country was on. Still, even within Europe there is some variability – Swedes, Czechs, and the French emerge as the most likely to reject the necessity of religion, while Ukrainians, Germans, and Slovaks are the least likely.

Meanwhile, in the Americas there are considerable differences among countries. While Brazilians, Venezuelans, Bolivians, and Peruvians tend to believe faith is a necessary foundation for moral values, Mexicans, Chileans, and Argentines are more divided on this issue. Only 30% of Canadians suggest morality is impossible without faith, compared to nearly six-in-ten Americans (57%).

Over the last five years, there has been no clear overall pattern of change on this question. The percentage of people who think believing in God is necessary has increased in nine countries, stayed about the same in ten, and declined in 13. While there may be no clear global trend, however, there have been important shifts in a few countries.

Venezuelans are significantly more likely now than in 2002 to say a person must be religious to be moral. Tanzanians, Ivoirians and Germans are also more likely to hold this view.

However, several countries show a steep decline in the number of people who feel morality requires a belief in a higher power. Decreases are particularly common in Eastern Europe – Ukrainians, Slovakians, Bulgarians and Poles have grown less inclined to tie religion and morality. Indians and Kenyans are also now less likely to say faith is necessary for a moral life.

Sharp Differences Over Homosexuality

Many of the patterns regarding views about religion and morality also characterize opinions about homosexuality. In Western Europe, clear majorities say homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society. Among Eastern Europeans, however, opinions are more diverse: Czechs and Slovaks strongly believe homosexuality should be accepted, while Poles and Bulgarians are closely divided on this issue, and Russians and Ukrainians tend to oppose acceptance.

Opinions are also divided in the Americas. Seven-in-ten Canadians believe society should accept homosexuality, compared to roughly half of Americans (49%). In Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico tolerant attitudes toward homosexuality prevail, while in Peru, Venezuela, and Bolivia views are more divided.

In Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attitudes toward homosexuals are overwhelmingly negative. In eight of 10 African publics, less than 5% feel society should accept homosexuality. Of the 24 nations from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East where this question was asked, Japan is the only country in which a plurality (49%) believe it should be accepted.

Since 2002, several Latin American countries – Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Peru – have developed more tolerant attitudes toward homosexuals. In Bolivia, however, the trend is in the opposite direction – in 2002, 55% said homosexuality should be accepted by society, compared to only 44% today.

Other publics have become less tolerant on this issue as well, especially South Africa, Turkey, South Korea and Italy. Overall, among the 32 countries where trends are available, 12 have become less tolerant, six more tolerant, and in 14 countries there has been no significant change.

An Age Gap on Religion, Homosexuality

Throughout North and South America and Europe, there is a consistent age gap on views about religion and homosexuality. In each country from these regions, people under age 40 are less likely than those age 40 and over to think a belief in God is necessary for morality, and more likely to believe that society should accept homosexuality.

In some cases, the gap between young and old is quite large. For example, nearly half (45%) of Germans age 40 or older think a person must believe in God to be moral, compared to only 23% of those under 40. And while 54% of younger Bulgarians think homosexuality should be accepted, only 31% of older Bulgarians agree.

In the United States, there is a slight age gap on the issue of homosexuality and a larger gap on the relationship between religion and morality. As with many social issues, there are also considerable differences along party lines – Republicans are more likely to say that a belief in God is required for good values (64%) and less likely to say homosexuality should be accepted (33%) than are Democrats (59% must believe in God to be moral, 56% society should accept homosexuality) or independents (48% must believe in God, 57% should accept homosexuality).

Most Want Religion and Government Separate

There is a consensus across regions that religion and governing do not mix. In 46 of 47 countries, majorities agree with the statement “Religion is a matter of personal faith and should be kept separate from government policy.”

However, while support for keeping religion and state policies separate generally remains high, the intensity of that support has declined. The percentage of people who completely agree with this principle has dropped in 17 of 33 nations where there are trends from 2002, while remaining basically stable in eight countries and increasing in another eight.

Support for keeping politics and religion separate tends to be somewhat lower in the Middle East. In Jordan, only 17% completely agree with this principle, and Jordan is the only country in the survey where a majority (53%) disagree. In neighboring Egypt, 49% disagree, and in the Palestinian territories, where the Islamist group Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, 42% disagree.

The trend on this question is moving in different directions in two major Muslim countries that are key allies of the United States: Turkey and Pakistan. Support for separation has declined considerably in traditionally secular Turkey, which recently handed a moderate Islamist party, the Justice and Development Party (known by its Turkish acronym AKP), its second straight national election victory. On the other hand, support for keeping mosque and state separate has increased in Pakistan, which has experienced considerable political tensions in recent months, including armed conflict between government forces and extremist groups.

Elsewhere in Asia, the percentage of people who completely agree that religion should be disconnected from policy is relatively small. Fewer than one-in-three Chinese, Indonesians, South Koreans and Malaysians completely agree with this perspective. Worries about mixing religion and public policy have declined steeply in India, where the Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP, was defeated in the 2004 national elections.

Several African publics have become less supportive of separation, especially Uganda, South Africa and Ghana. Elsewhere on the continent, however, support remains quite high. Indeed, the three countries on the survey with the largest percentages endorsing separation are Ethiopia (85%), Senegal (81%) and Ivory Coast (78%).

Throughout Europe, Canada, and the United States, majorities completely back the separation of religion and politics, although these majorities are notably slim in Italy (59%), Bulgaria (57%), Russia (55%), the U.S. (55%), and Spain (51%).

Modernizers and Fundamentalists in the Muslim World

In nations with large Muslim populations, a significant number of people feel a struggle is taking place between Islamic fundamentalists and groups that want to modernize their country. In 11 of the 16 nations where this question was asked, at least three-in-ten Muslims say there is a conflict between fundamentalists and modernizers. In 10 of 16 countries, those who believe there is a struggle tend to identify with the modernizers, while in six countries a plurality favor the fundamentalists.

The perception that a struggle is taking place is particularly common in Lebanon, a country rife with political and sectarian conflict. However, the country’s two main Muslim communities see this issue very differently. Lebanese Sunni strongly believe there is struggle and tend to side with modernizing groups, while most Shia do not believe there is a struggle.

Just over half (52%) of Turks see a conflict in their country, where there has been considerable tension in recent months between followers of the ruling AKP party and the country’s traditional secular elites over issues involving religion and politics, such as the wearing of veils by Muslim women.

African Muslims are somewhat less likely to perceive a struggle, especially in Senegal, Ethiopia and Mali. Perceptions of a struggle are somewhat more common in Nigeria and Tanzania, where roughly one-in-three Muslims say there is a conflict.