Premium
Recovering the Lost: Remeasuring U.S. Religious Affiliation
Author(s) -
DOUGHERTY KEVIN D.,
JOHNSON BYRON R.,
POLSON EDWARD C.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal for the scientific study of religion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1468-5906
pISSN - 0021-8294
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2007.00373.x
Subject(s) - religious identity , typology , sociology , religious controversies , survey data collection , identity (music) , religious philosophy , religious experience , religious values , religious belief , religiosity , social psychology , religious studies , psychology , social science , theology , anthropology , epistemology , philosophy , mathematics , statistics , aesthetics , philosophy education , islam
Over the past several decades, survey research has found a growing percentage of Americans claiming no religious affiliation. In this article, we introduce a modified religious traditions (RELTRAD) typology to measure religious affiliation. The approach benefits from a more detailed data collection and coding scheme of religious tradition based upon religious family, denomination, and congregation. Using new national survey data from the Baylor Religion Survey, we find: (1) improvement to survey design and measurement makes it possible to accurately locate more Americans within established religious traditions; (2) Americans remain connected to congregations, but less so to denominations or more generic religious identity labels; and (3) religious adherents are considerably more evangelical than prior studies have found. Finally, we consider how affiliation as a form of religious belonging relates to religious beliefs and behaviors.