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Reassessing the Concept and Measurement of Evangelicals: The Case for the RELTRAD Approach
Author(s) -
Smidt Corwin E.
Publication year - 2019
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/jssr.12633
Subject(s) - sociology , epistemology , social psychology , psychology , philosophy
Social scientists have generally adopted one of three analytical approaches to understanding evangelicalism and those who thereby fall within the ranks of evangelicals. The choice of which approach one adopts is not “neutral,” as each approach embodies different theoretical perspectives related to evangelicals, posits different means by which religion is linked to attitudes and behavior, entails different measurement issues, and captures somewhat different segments of society as being evangelical. This article delineates and explicates the inherent conceptual differences among the three approaches and examines the measurement issues associated with each approach. Given this reassessment, the article concludes by contending that the relative merits of the affiliation (or RELTRAD) approach generally outweigh those of the other two approaches.

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