American Religion
The award winning book The Churching of America, is a dramatic rewriting of American religious history with a free-market bent. The authors write: “[the] most striking trend in the history of religion in America is growth–or what we call the churching of America.” Making use of a traditional church-sect distinction, Finke and Stark argue that historians have seen religion in decline in America because their assumptions led them to look at the wrong religious institutions. Finke and Stark charge that “frequently, a lack of religious activity is asserted when all that is lacking is the preferred brand of religious activity.” What they mean by “preferred brand” is the theologically sophisticated church institutions which are not in great tension with society. The authors compare these institutions with “upstart sects” and argue that,
The Churching of America - The Acton Institute
Religion Data Resources
There are many sources of census and social survey data on the web. Most of these sources are cataloged on other sites. Therefore some of the links on this page are to collections of links that we have found useful. The sites containing religion data are less plentiful but considerable information can be found on the listed links below.
This is a working document compiling statistics from numerous sources. Afro-Caribbean Statistics "Hundreds of thousands of African Americans and Caribbean immigrants in major cities throughout the country follow these [African-based] traditions."
The Pluralism Project: Statistics by Tradition
Four Mega-Trends Changing America's Religious Landscape by David
Four Mega-Trends Changing America’s Religious Landscape by David A. Roozen Presented at the Religion Newswriters Association Annual Conference, Boston, MA September 22, 2001
Directory of Online Resources for the Study of Religion in the United States Religion Gateway > America Table of Contents Related Subjects
American Religion - American Religions - Academic Info