Period and Cohort Effects on Religious Nonaffiliation and Religious Disaffiliation: A Research Note (original) (raw)

Explaining the Rise of Americans With No Religious Preference: Politics and Generations

The proportion of Americans who reported no religious preference doubled from 7 to 14 percent in the second half of the 1990s, according to data from the General Social Survey. This dramatic change may be the result of demographic shifts, increasing skepticism, or the politicization of religion. Part of the increase reflects a succession of generations; the percentage of adults who had been raised with no religion increased from 2 percent to 6 percent. Other sociodemographic factors also contributed to the increase. Religious skepticism is an unlikely explanation: Most people with no preference hold conventional religious beliefs, despite their alienation from organized religion. These "unchurched believers" made up most of the increase in "no religion" responses. Politics is the key additional factor. While the percentage of political moderates and liberals who reported no religion grew rapidly between 1991 and 2000, the religious preferences of political conservatives did not change. We suggest that a noteworthy part of the increase in "Nones" is a symbolic statement against the Religious Right.

Religion in AMERICA—1972–2006: Religious Affiliation, Attendance, and Strength of Faith 1,2

Psychological Reports, 2010

The present study used data from the General Social Survey, collected between 1972 and 2006 (N = 45,463) to analyze changes over time in three aspects of religion among American adults: religious affiliation, frequency of attending religious services, and strength of faith. The last two measures were analyzed only for survey participants who had a religious affiliation. Ordinary least-squares regression confirmed a significant decrease in religious affiliation over time, after controlling for socio-demographic variables that are known to be associated with religion. A significant decrease in attending religious services was found among those survey participants who were religiously affiliated. As expected, participants who were African American, female, older, and from the South were more religious according to all three measures. No effect of birth-cohort was found for any religious measure. The results are discussed in the context of Stark and Bainbridge's 1996 theory of religion.

Age, period, and cohort effects on religious activities and beliefs

Social Science Research, 2011

Despite the theoretical emphasis on religious decline in modern societies, sociologists remain divided over trends in religious activity and belief that support or refute claims of religious decline. Much of this disagreement stems from the inability to distinguish between period and cohort effects when analyzing repeated cross-sectional survey data. I use the intrinsic estimator, a recently developed method of simultaneously estimating age, period, and cohort effects, to examine changes in Americans' religious service attendance, prayer, belief in the afterlife, and biblical literalism. Results show that regular service attendance declines, predominantly across cohorts. There are also period-and cohort-based declines in biblical literalism and a cohort-based decline in prayer. Belief in the afterlife is relatively stable across periods and cohorts. These results provide mixed support for theories of religious decline, and they demonstrate the importance of differen tiating between period and cohort effects on social change.

Age, Period, and Cohort Effects on U.S. Religious Service Attendance: The Declining Impact of Sex, Southern Residence, and Catholic Affiliation

Sociology of Religion, 2010

I use repeated, cross-sectional data from 1972 to 2006 to analyze age, period, and cohort effects on Americans' frequency of religious service attendance with cross-classified, random-effects models. The results show that the frequency of religious service attendance is relatively stable, with a modest period-based decline in the 1990s and little overall cohort effect. Although aggregate rates of attendance are stable, there are large changes across cohorts and periods in differences in attendance between men and women, southerners and non-southerners, and Catholics and mainline Protestants. These results serve as a reminder that aggregate trends can mask substantial changes among specific groups, and that factors that strongly influence religious participation at one period or among one birth cohort may not be the same factors that affect participation at another time or among another cohort.

The future size of religiously affiliated and unaffiliated populations

Demographic Research, 2015

People who are religiously unaffiliated (including self-identifying atheists and agnostics, as well as those who say their religion is "nothing in particular") made up 16.4% of the world's population in 2010. Unaffiliated populations have been growing in North America and Europe, leading some to expect that this group will grow as a share of the world's population. However, such forecasts overlook the impact of demographic factors, such as fertility and the large, aging unaffiliated population in Asia.

Religious Independents within Western Industrialized Nations: A Socio-Demographic Profile

Sociology of Religion, 2000

As of yet, re/at/vdy//tt/e informar/on ex/sts w/thin Westem industrialized nations regarding reli~ous inclependents, of individuals who claim no re//gª af/i//aa'on. Th/s is part/cu/ar/~ the case cohen countries besides the United States and C~ ate considere& Mindful of this omission, this study uses recent nationaUy relyresentative survey data to compare the reli~~us convictions and socio.

Income, Education, and Three Dimensions of Religiosity in the USA

Eastern Economic Journal, 2017

We use American Time Use Survey data and a two-part econometric model to investigate the relationship of income and education to religiosity in the USA. We find some evidence that people are less likely to be religious as their income increases and that religious people spend less time performing religious activities as their incomes rise. The effect of additional education is ambiguous. We also find that while women are more likely to be religious than men and immigrants are more likely to be religious than natives, among religious people there is no significant difference in religiosity by gender or origin.

Faith, Christianity, and Non-Affiliation in the United States

2014

Rates of religious non-affiliation continue to rise in the United States, with roughly 20% of Americans reporting no identification with any church or religious group. Generally, scholars have assumed these religious "nones" were atheists or agnostics with an active dislike of religious faith. This study explores the demographic, family background, political and moral worldview variation among a large sample of non-affiliates using various statistical regression analyses. Additionally, using a novel coding scheme, nonaffiliates were modeled according to their self-reported levels of religiosity and spirituality, revealing further differentiation within this subpopulation. Results suggest that "nones" are not homogenously atheist or agnostic and that they likely vary in terms of their moral worldview and their political attitudes towards the family, among other things.

Religious involvement over the life course: problems of measurement and classification

Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, 2015

Longitudinal studies have the potential to enhance our understanding of stability and change in religious identity, practice and belief. Good individual-level data would help in developing and testing theories concerning the causes and consequences of religious involvement. Past research has shown, however, that even subtle differences in wording or context can substantially affect responses to questions on religion. The 1970 British Cohort Study offers an important opportunity to test the consistency of self-reported religion and religiosity. In addition, the 2012 sweep asked questions on belief in God and life after death as well as religious affiliation and practice, allowing us to explore the complexity of religious adherence. A close examination of the multiple waves of the BCS70 reveals a large amount of uncertainty in measurement, making it hard to detect whatever genuine change might have occurred. There are indications of considerable unreliability in reported past and present affiliation. It is also difficult to be confident about changes in religious commitment, though a substantial proportion of teenagers who reported that religion was an important part of their lives became relatively unreligious adults. The data on religious belief make it apparent that while some people seem wholly non-religious and a smaller number are actively (and consistently) religious, the majority fall into intermediate categories defined by nominal allegiance, unorthodox belief, or belief in the absence of affiliation or practice. It is clear that multiple survey items covering identity, practice and belief are needed to obtain a reliable picture of religious commitment.