Fate of the West

Stories from Pew Research Center. Show all stories · All sources

• PPew Research Center2026-10-15✓ Read

  So Far, the 119th Congress Is Among the Least Productive of the Past 40 Years

  The 119th Congress has enacted 121 laws so far, the second fewest of any Congress in the past four decades.

  
• PPew Research Center2026-10-14✓ Read

  Religious Groups’ Midterm Preferences

  Religion & Public Life A weekly digest of the Center’s latest research on religion and public life in the U.S. and around the world · Subscribe ↗ Media mentions Pew midterm poll: Catholics prefer Democratic House candidates by 3-point marginOct. 13 – EWTN The Trump administration’s cosmic battleOct. 11 – The New York Times * In the

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• PPew Research Center2026-10-14✓ Read

  Appendix: Who Is Part of an Online Community?

  Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

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• PPew Research Center2026-10-14✓ Read

  About a Third of Americans Have Left an Online Community

  Online communities can draw people in with shared interests, support or a sense of belonging. But for some Americans, these spaces aren’t forever, according to a new Pew Research Center survey from the Pew-Knight Initiative. About a third of U.S. adults say they have ever left an online community, according to the survey conducted May

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• PPew Research Center2026-10-14✓ Read

  Online Communities Rarely Focus on Politics, and Many Say It Should Stay That Way

  Politics can find a way into online communities, whether they are focused on politics or built around other topics from neighborhoods to parenting. But a new Pew Research Center survey from the Pew-Knight Initiative finds that politics is not a big driver of conversation in the online communities people visit most. And a majority don’t

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• PPew Research Center2026-10-14✓ Read

  Online Community and Connection in America

  Nearly four-in-ten U.S. adults are in an online community. These virtual third spaces can take many forms, like Facebook groups, online video games or fandom forums on Reddit.

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• PPew Research Center2026-10-14✓ Read

  Many Americans Are Struggling to Afford Basic Necessities

  44% of Americans had trouble paying for a basic necessity in the past year, with lower-income adults hit hardest.

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• PPew Research Center2026-10-14✓ Read

  Methodology

  The American Trends Panel survey methodology Overview Data in this report comes from Wave 198 of the American Trends Panel (ATP), Pew Research Center’s nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults. The survey was conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026. A total of 5,166 panelists responded out of 5,602 who were sampled, for a survey-level response

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• PPew Research Center2026-10-14✓ Read

  Acknowledgments

  This report is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of the following individuals. Find related reports online at pewresearch.org/topic/economy-work/. Kim Parker, Director of Social Trends ResearchJuliana Horowitz, Senior Associate Director, ResearchRichard Fry, Senior EconomistDana Braga, Research AnalystBlen Wondimu, Research Assistant Reem Nadeem, Digital ProducerJohn Carlo Mandapat, Information Graphics DesignerAnna Jackson, Editorial SpecialistJulia

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• PPew Research Center2026-10-14✓ Read

  Trends in Income and Wealth Inequality

  Most Americans say there’s too much economic inequality in the United States these days. To understand how people’s financial circumstances have changed in recent decades, we looked at trends in income and wealth for lower-, middle- and upper-income households since 2000. Income and wealth have grown for each group. But the gains have been greatest

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• PPew Research Center2026-10-14✓ Read

  Americans’ Views of Economic Inequality, Its Causes and Who Should Fix It

  Since 2019, a growing share among those who say there’s too much inequality think the economic system needs to be completely rebuilt to address it.

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• PPew Research Center2026-10-13✓ Read

  Religious Groups Differ Widely in Their 2026 Midterm Preferences

  White evangelical Protestants and White Catholics favor Republicans in the midterms, while other religious groups split or lean Democratic.

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