Daniel Cox is the Director of the Survey Center on American Life and a senior fellow in polling and public opinion at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he specializes in survey research, politics, youth culture and identity, and religion. Before joining AEI, he was the research director at PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute), which he cofounded and where he led the organization’s qualitative and quantitative research program.
He is also the coauthor of numerous academic book chapters, journal articles, and conference papers on topics relating to religious polarization, anti-Muslim attitudes in the US, religious tolerance of atheists, and new methods for measuring social class and religious belief. Read more.
Dana Popky
Research Assistant
Dana Popky is a research assistant for the Survey Center on American Life at the American Enterprise Institute. She works with AEI senior fellow Daniel A. Cox compiling and analyzing polls on a variety of contemporary political and social issues. Before coming to AEI, Dana worked at Pew Research Center analyzing media coverage of President Biden in his first 100 days, and measuring religious restrictions around the world. She graduated from Tufts University with degrees in International Relations and Religion and a minor in Spanish.
Beatrice Lee
Research Assistant
Beatrice Lee is a research assistant for Politics and Public Opinion Studies and the Survey Center on American Life at the American Enterprise Institute. She works with AEI senior fellow Daniel A. Cox and visiting scholar Samuel J. Abrams compiling and analyzing polls on a variety of contemporary political and social issues. Before joining AEI, Beatrice worked as a research assistant for Middlebury College, where she developed course material on survey methodology and introductory statistics. She graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in Economics.
Recent Commentary
April 11, 2022
Gen Z is the Loneliest Generation — and It’s Their Parents Fault
Generation Z is impressive by any measure. They have more years of formal education and lower high-school dropout rates than any previous generation. They are more likely to avoid drug use and have lower rates of teen pregnancy. They are savvy consumers of information and users of technology. They are less prone to traffic in misinformation and conspiracy theories. But despite all
April 10, 2022
Stop Blaming Young People for Leaving Religion
Over the last decade, there has been a steady stream of news stories about how young people are abandoning their formative faith commitments. These articles frequently argue that despite their parents’ best efforts, young people are bent on forgoing any association with organized religion, along with all the benefits that come with it. This story is compelling, and
April 5, 2022
For Gen Z, Religious Pluralism Will Require Bridging the Religious-Secular Divide
For Generation Z, American religious life has been defined by its diversity. And religious pluralism has been as much practice as principle. Young adults today have close friends and family members spanning a variety of religious identities and beliefs. In a survey conducted by the Survey Center on American Life, we found that nearly one in five
March 13, 2022
We Live in a Nation of Strangers. That Needs to Change
Diversity is not the source of our current problems; our troubling incuriosity about our neighbors is driving disconnection.