Reorganized Religion with Bob Smietana
January 30, 2023
America’s rapidly changing religious landscape has spurred many questions about the cause of its decline and predictions about what the future holds. In his new book, Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why It Matters (Worthy Publishing, 2022), Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana follows the decline of mainstream Christian denominations, the rise of “disorganized disbelievers,” and how politics shapes religious communities and what this means for the the future of our civil society. Continue Reading →
Faith After the Pandemic: How COVID-19 Changed American Religion
January 5, 2023
The Survey Center on American Life at AEI teamed up with researchers at NORC at the University of Chicago to measure religious affiliation and attendance both before the pandemic (2018 to March 2020) and again in spring 2022, revealing who remained at the pews, who returned to the pews, and who left. Continue Reading →
The Democratic Party’s Transformation: More Diverse, Educated, and Liberal but Less Religious
July 28, 2022
The Democratic Party has experienced seismic demographic changes over the past few decades; becoming less Christian, more liberal, more educated, and more racially and ethnically diverse. These changes profoundly impact the Democratic Party’s future political priorities and electoral fortunes. Continue Reading →
Why a Modest Decline in Religious Belief is Important
July 8, 2022
Another poll, another record broken in the country’s continuing religious descent. A new Gallup poll finds that 81 percent of Americans say that they believe in God, representing a six point drop over the last five years. Continue Reading →
Jews and the Faith of Their Children
May 23, 2022
Just half of Jews in America today believe it is important for children to be brought up in a religion so they can learn good values, making the Jewish community an outlier compared to other religious traditions. Continue Reading →
Jewish Religious Exceptionalism
April 14, 2022
Data from the Survey Center on American Life’s new American National Family Life Survey reveals that while Jews heavily embrace cultural traditions such as foodways and festivals, their levels of engagement with conventional forms of religious practice, such as regular worship and religious marriage ceremonies, are much lower than national norms. Continue Reading →
Generation Z and the Future of Faith in America
March 24, 2022
The religious and social experiences of young adults today are entirely different than previous generations. New family dynamics and parenting choices are reshaping the religious experiences of young people, setting them on a very different trajectory than past generations and making Generation Z the least religious generation. Continue Reading →
Diversity and Disconnection
March 1, 2022
Americans who live in areas packed with neighborhood amenities tend to have a more diverse set of friends and acquaintances. Continue Reading →
Emerging Trends and Enduring Patterns in American Family Life
February 9, 2022
Family dynamics are always evolving, but the emergence of new technologies, shifting economic realities, new cultural sensibilities, and social arrangements have reshaped family life dramatically. But there are enduring patterns in American family life as well. Women still do far more of the household chores, including cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Formative experiences, such as divorce, parental favoritism, and relationships have far-reaching influence. Continue Reading →
Is America entering a new secular age?
May 19, 2021
Rapid growth of secular identities and beliefs in America is transforming the religious and political landscape. Join us to explore what this means for the future of American religion and politics. Continue Reading →