The Problem With Polling Abortion
May 12, 2022
This is difficult for me to admit as someone who makes a living conducting and analyzing polls, but we might need to think hard about what polls are really contributing to the public debate on abortion. Polls play a crucial role in our debates over public policy. They reveal to journalists, elected officials, and Continue Reading →
In Seeking to Stand Out, Gen Z Has Become the Loneliest Generation
April 14, 2022
If you shouted out your name in public, how many people do you think would respond? If you have a common name—Daniel for example—chances are you might get some people to turn around. But sharing your name with multiple classmates, friends, or co-workers is an experience that’s becoming much less common. Parents are increasingly prioritizing Continue Reading →
What Might NASA’s New Space Telescope Mean for Religion?
March 31, 2022
We are about to enter the golden age of space exploration. If you’re not a space nerd, this may be news to you, but NASA has embarked on one of the most ambitious projects in a generation. On December 25, 2021, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was launched into space. A successor to the immensely successful Continue Reading →
Why Religion Matters More for Working Class Men
March 17, 2022
Americans have become increasingly disconnected from each other. We join fewer organizations, spend less time with our neighbors, and have fewer friends than we did in the recent past. Working-class men have been especially hard-hit by this social recession. They’re more likely to experience social dislocation and alienation and the raft of social, psychological, and personal health problems that come Continue Reading →
Could Religious Changes Among Hispanics Lead to a Political Realignment?
March 4, 2022
In the 2020 presidential election, Trump surprised a lot of savvy political analysts when he increased his support among Hispanic voters by sizable margins. A Pew post-election analysis found that nearly four in ten (38 percent) Hispanic voters supported Trump in the 2020 election – a 10-point increase over his performance four years earlier. This startling development unleashed a Continue Reading →
Are We Approaching the End of the Secular Surge?
February 17, 2022
One of the defining demographic trends of the past several decades has been the rise of the “Nones,” also known as the religiously unaffiliated. The General Social Survey (GSS), which has measured national religious identity since the early 1970s, first identified the spike in nonreligious affiliation starting in the mid-1990s. In recent years, there have Continue Reading →
Is the Pandemic Sparking an Online Religious Revival?
February 4, 2022
One of the very first things the Internet accomplished was allowing people to bypass traditional gatekeepers. For religious Americans, the rise of the Internet meant unfettered and unfiltered access to information about their own faith. A 2001 Pew Research Center report found that one of the most common online activities for “Religious Surfers” (religious people who spent Continue Reading →
Will the Pandemic Bring About the End of Small Churches?
January 20, 2022
News about religious trends in the US is rarely upbeat. A recent exception was Bob Smietana’s article for Religion News Service in which he documented how declining service attendance has created a new category of “minichurches” that feature fewer members than you might find at a family reunion. But with fewer congregants, religious leaders are able to Continue Reading →
How Much Should We Worry about Political Violence?
January 6, 2022
Last year, Tom Gjelten of NPR asked me what I made of the fact that our poll showed nearly four in ten Republicans appeared to endorse the use of force in politics. I said it was “pretty scary”. A year later, I still feel that way. That 29 percent of Americans, and 39 percent of Republicans, appear ready to Continue Reading →
Charting the Most Important Findings in American Life in 2021
December 23, 2021
To round out the year, I’m sharing my top 10 list of the most revealing and arresting charts documenting changes to American life in 2021. Although many of these are based on our own survey work, we do not have a monopoly on producing insightful charts and compelling visualizations, so I included a few other Continue Reading →
Survey Reports
In the news
October 18, 2024
The men who love Trump — but might not vote for him
October 16, 2024
Mormon voters set to play critical role in swing states
October 13, 2024
