Religious Reactions to Vaccination in the US

… As usual, there are good reasons to think that religion is playing both sides, boosting a pro-social willingness to get vaccinated as well as fueling the resistance to this collective effort. For instance, culture warrior Franklin Graham based his pro-vaccine message on the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan […] Read more »

The Miracle and Tragedy of the 2020 U.S. Election

The 2020 election was both a miracle and a tragedy. In the midst of a pandemic posing unprecedented challenges, local and state administrators pulled off a safe, secure, and professional election. This article discusses metrics of success in the adaptations that took place—record-high turnout, widespread voter satisfaction, a doubling of […] Read more »

After a Year of Pandemic and Crisis, How Have Americans’ Values Changed?

The year 2020 was marked by several related crises: the COVID-19 pandemic, deepening economic inequality, and increasingly visible racism and violence against people of color. Did this year change the public’s views on health-related issues? A 2019 Commonwealth Fund/New York Times/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health survey of Americans’ […] Read more »

Pessimistic View of Race Relations Exists Among Majority of Americans

As an element of American life, a majority of people in the country view the state of race relations as mostly bad according to the newest edition of the Grinnell College National Poll. The poll, a partnership between Grinnell College and J. Ann Selzer of Selzer & Company, was released […] Read more »