The Pew Research Center studies the trends that shape our world. They took a look back at 2015 and compiled their most striking findings. Here’s a list of 10 of their findings we think you may find interesting:

 

1. “Just 19% of Americans say they can trust the federal government always or most of the time.” Pew says that’s the lowest level in 50 years.

 

2. “The American middle class is shrinking.” The middle class is no longer the majority in this country.

3. “For the first time since the 1940s, more immigrants from Mexico are leaving the U.S. than coming into the country.

 

4. “There’s a substantial rise in the share of Americans who say the country needs to continue making changes to give blacks equal rights with whites.” 59% said change was needed in 2015 vs 46% in 2014.

 

5. “Millennials surpassed Baby Boomers in sheer numbers to become the largest U.S. generation.” There are now 75.3 million Millennials (ages 18 to 34) vs 74.9 million Baby Boomers.

6. “People in countries with significant Muslim populations express overwhelmingly negative views of ISIS, according to our spring survey in 11 countries.”

 

7. “Islam will grow faster than any other major religion in the world over the next four decades, according to our religious projections.” This is due to demographics: Muslims are having more children than other religions and Muslims are relatively younger.

 

8. “Christians are declining as a share of the U.S. population, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing.” Christians have dropped to 71% of the population in the U.S. while religious “nones” have risen to 23%. Millennials make up a large part of those with no religious affiliation.

 

9. “Scientists and the American public are often far apart when it comes to views about science-related issues.” For example, 88% of surveyed scientists thought genetically modified food was safe to eat versus 37% of the public.

10. “A global median of 54% consider climate change a very serious problem, according to our survey of 40 nations.” People in Latin America and Africa were the most concerned, while people in the United States and China were the least concerned.