Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, random sample surveys, panel-based surveys, and media content analysis on topics ranging from U.S. politics to global religion. It does not take policy stances.
The Times Mirror Company founded the predecessor organization, the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press, in 1990. The Pew Charitable Trusts became the primary sponsor in 1996, and the Pew Research Center was formally established in Washington, D.C. in 2004.
Andrew Kohut served as director from 1993 until stepping down as president in 2013, when he became founding director. Alan Murray became the second president, and Michael Dimock was named president in October 2014 after 14 years at the center.
The Pew Research Center is primarily funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, of which it is a subsidiary. For research on global religious demographics, it has also received joint funding from the Templeton Foundation.
The Pew Research Center describes itself as nonpartisan and states it does not take policy stances. It is a charter member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research's Transparency Initiative, which requires disclosure of survey methods.
Pew covers U.S. politics, international affairs, immigration, race and ethnicity, religion, age and generations, gender and LGBTQ issues, family and relationships, the economy, science, internet and technology, and news habits. Methodological research is also a named area of focus.