The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA)

Check out this resource for understanding the U.S. Religion Census, and then explore the data on our site!

Interactive tools: https://thearda.com/us-religion/census/congregational-membership

Downloadable dataset for researchers: https://thearda.com/data-archive?fid=RCMSCY20

We have issued a publication summarizing the 2020 U.S. Religion Census. The publication includes 11 chapters outlining the history of congregation-level data collection and data analyses covering such topics as immigration, diversity, and trends. The authors of these chapters use maps, tables, and charts to help illustrate their findings. There are also four tables summarizing the data by nation, state, metropolitan/micropolitan area, and county. Finally, there is a section of 37 full-page maps. To access or download, see https://www.usreligioncensus.org/node/1638.

🚨 new data alert! 🚨
- American National Election Studies (ANES) Social Media Study 2020
- Congregations and Disaster 2019
- Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS) 2021
- Taiwan Social Change Survey 2018, Religion
- Religion and State Project, Constitutions 1990-2022

Check out these datasets and more at the ARDA:

Newest Additions Browse | Data Archive Browse Newest Data Collections in Data Archive Ordered by Addition Date

officially premieres today, but what is exorcism really, from a religious point of view?

Find out from our religion dictionary: https://thearda.com/research/religion-dictionary

Congratulations to Dr. Gina Zurlo on her new book!

We're honored to include an interview by Dr. Zurlo in our online course where she provides an explanation of religious demography and reminds us to "remember the women" when studying worldwide religion.

Check out the interview here: https://thearda.com/teaching/online-course/exploring-religion/video-interviews %202

| Congratulations to Gina Zurlo on the publication of "Women in World Christianity: Building and Sustaining a Global Movement." Read more: https://ow.ly/AlkQ50PJsYV

Data highlight: Australian Survey of Social Attitudes!

This dataset collected by Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research Inc. covers social attitudes, beliefs and opinions of Australians, and we now have the 2015, 2017, and 2019 waves!

AuSSA 2015: https://thearda.com/data-archive?fid=AUSSA2015
2017: https://thearda.com/data-archive?fid=AUSSA2017
2019: https://thearda.com/data-archive?fid=AUSSA2019

We're honored to be included on this new FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency list of resources for people who do the important work of disaster response!

5 Tips to Help Emergency Managers Build Partnerships with Faith-Based Organizations Religiously affiliated organizations play a vital role in helping people before, during and after disasters. They are often on the frontlines after a disaster providing essentials like hot meals, water, debris removal, counseling services and more. At FEMA, we work with these faith-based and communi...

Explore U.S. Religion Census data from the 2010 and 2020 studies with our NEW teaching module! While initially heavily focused on Christian religious groups, the study has grown to include many non-Christian groups and religious traditions with no central data collection points, such as non-denominational churches or Muslim and Jewish communities.

U.S. Religion Census: Religious Congregations and Membership Study The U.S. Religion Census: Religious Congregations and Membership Study (RCMS) is a decadal census that has been conducted by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. While initially heavily focused on Christian religious groups, the study has grown to include many non-Christian...

Our September feature of the month is our QuickStats!

The QuickStats page features links to charts and tables summarizing U.S. views on various issues ranging from belief in God to views on abortion, as well as congregational features such as the gender of religious leaders and the kinds of services provided.

See the pictures below for an example, or explore for yourself at our website: https://thearda.com/us-religion/statistics/beliefs

After testing it out with students, our NEW online course "Exploring Religion" is free for instructors to adapt for their own classes!

This college-level course uses data and research projects to teach students about religion throughout America and across the globe. Included with the course are data-driven assignments, suggested readings, and EXCLUSIVE interviews with social scientists!

If you're an instructor, or you want to learn on your own, check it out: https://thearda.com/teaching/online-course

New data highlight: NPORS 2022!

View/download the National Public Opinion Reference Survey 2022 conducted by
Pew Research Center:

Data Archive Over 1000 surveys and other data collections related to American and international religion are available for online preview and download

Among the many fantastic expert interviews that were recorded for our online course, we want to highlight our interview with Dr. Tymofii Brik at Kyiv School of Economics, recorded in the early stages of the 2021 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

It was an honor that he was willing to zoom in from Kyiv to discuss the topic of religious conflict and explain some of the religious dynamics behind the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War.

Watch the interview here: https://thearda.com/teaching/online-course/exploring-religion/video-interviews %2014

The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) http://www.theARDA.com/

Check out this new blog post by the Institute on Religion & Democracy using data from our group profiles to explore membership trends in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)!

And explore the data used in the blog: https://thearda.com/us-religion/group-profiles/groups?D=173

(We do not endorse particular religious groups or perspectives; we just share interesting explorations of data on religion.)

Disciples Suffer Massive Membership Drop Post-2019 The ability of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to minister as a denomination of nationwide reach is rapidly fading.

Spoke to ASARB (Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies) at the ELCA headquarters in Chicago on Tuesday. This group provides key data available in The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) by conducting the US Religion Census every decade.

How does religion impact s*xual attitudes and behaviors? What does the data say about the s*x lives of religious Americans?

Find out with our teaching module!

Sexuality and Religion in the United States How does religion impact s*xual attitudes and behaviors? What does the data say about the s*x lives of religious Americans? This module will use social survey data to answer these and other questions.

in religious history, the terrorist attacks we know as 9/11 took place.

While 9/11 was religiously motivated, it's key to remember that al-Qaeda espoused a form of militant Islamism not approved by most of the world's Muslims.

For more on religion and 9/11: https://thearda.com/us-religion/history/timelines/entry?etype=1&eid=115

The NEW online course we've created includes exclusive interviews with religion experts from Pew Research Center, U.S. Religion Census, and a number of universities!

The interviews are publicly accessible for anyone to watch at the link below!

Video Interviews

September is National Su***de Prevention and Awareness Month.

Religiosity has been associated with lower risk of su***de, but there have also been some famous religiously motivated su***des. Learn more with our religion dictionary at the link below.

(If you or a loved one needs help, call 988 or text TALK to 741741 to reach the national su***de hotline.)

Religion Dictionary | Research Dictionary Containing Hundreds of Religion and Statistical Term Definitions

Looking for just one or two resources to fill out your course on religion? Find ARDA learning modules, exclusive interviews w/ top scholars, and more w/ this NEW document!
https://thearda.com/ARDA/teaching/resources/ARDAResourcesandActivitiesforSelectedTopics.pdf

🚨 new alert! 🚨

Current and former ARDA staff have worked hard to develop a full online course using our resources that is available on our site as of TODAY!!

Check it out here:

Online Course | Teaching Resources | Teaching Exploring Religion is an online course divided into 15 sessions that allows students to explore religion throughout America and across the globe

🚨 new alert!🚨

The Nationall Survey of Religious Leaders is a nationally representative survey of 1600 clergy from all kinds of congregations.

Mark Chaves is the PI and variables include:
- career issues
- religious beliefs/practices
- mental/physical health
- and more!

View/download for free: https://thearda.com/data-archive?fid=NSRL

Ever wanted to visit a mosque/church/temple just to learn, but felt awkward?

Check out Dr. Nancy Ammerman's guide for 1st visits:
https://thearda.com/ARDA/teaching/resources/Observing%20Congregations-A%20Guide%20for%20First%20Visits%20and%20Beyond.pdf

Curious about the history of YOUR religious tradition? Check out our fun, interactive religion family trees!

Family Trees | US Religion Interactive Family Trees Showing the Lineage of Numerous US Religious Groups

🚨 New alert! 🚨

We have 2 new datasets in our archive:
- Taiwan Social Change Survey, 2015 (P*s: Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology)
- Jewish Americans in 2020 (P*s: Pew Research Center)

View/download for free:

Newest Additions Browse | Data Archive Browse Newest Data Collections in Data Archive Ordered by Addition Date

Today is Christmas, a Christian holiday generally celebrated on Dec. 25th to commemorate the birth of Jesus. (Some Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7th).

Learn about Christmas and other religious terms on the ARDA's religion dictionary: https://thearda.com/research/religion-dictionary

Is there a fundamental conflict between religion and science? One of our learning modules explores what Americans believe about this issue: https://thearda.com/teaching/learning-modules-blog/college-modules/united-states/religion-and-science

The Jewish festival of Hanukkah began yesterday and will continue through Monday, December 26th.

Learn more about Hanukkah and other religious terms from the ARDA's religion dictionary: https://thearda.com/research/religion-dictionary

Religion Dictionary Abraham: The Hebrew Bible patriarch and father of the "Abrahamic," monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Prothero 2008: 193).

The founder of The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) on the Finding Genius Podcast. Apparently they were looking in the right place.

Faith And Government: Examining The Issue Of Religious Freedom With Sociologist Roger Finke

Roger Finke is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies at The Pennsylvania State University and Director of The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA). For the past several years, he has been on a mission to understand the implications government restrictions have for religious organizations, civil liberties, and social conflict.

Listen to it here: https://bit.ly/3v0f9WQ

Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/30PvU9C

Clergy and religious leaders, we have a mapping tool designed to help you learn more about your communities!

Our Community Profile Builder can show you info about religious affiliation, housing, income, employment, education, language, and more.

Build a Profile of Your Community This tool assists church and community leaders in accessing free online information about their communities. The initial map shows the location of other churches in your area and the Community Profile Builder provides you with social, economic, and religious information on the community or neighborh...

🚨New data alert!🚨 We've added 4 new datasets to the archive last week:
- National Public Opinion Reference Survey 2020 (Pew Research Center)
- Hispanic Values Survey 2013 (PRRI)
- Religion in Western Europe (Pew Research Center)
- Religious Beliefs and Practices in Mexico (CONACYT (Mexico))

All datasets are available to view/download for free!

Browse Newest Additions

On this day in 1965, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I jointly lifted the mutual excommunications between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The excommunications were originally issued in 1054 and led to the Great Schism.

Learn more at the ARDA: https://thearda.com/us-religion/history/timelines/entry?etype=1&eid=265

Our next monthly newsletter comes out TOMORROW, so sign up today if you want to know all the latest from the ARDA!

https://thearda.com/about/subscribe-to-the-arda

Subscribe to the ARDA

We're at . Can't miss us--first table inside the book exhibit. Stop by and say "Hi."

We are excited to see everyone at soon! Here is a map showing all religious congregations within 2 miles of the conference center, generated using the ARDA's community profile builder.

Explore this profile or make your own here: https://www.thearda.com/us-religion/cpb?y=4762912.041463406&x=-8528343.276127154&b=1&denom=

On this day in 1960, JFK became the first Catholic US president. His religion played a prominent role during the campaign, but he ultimately argued that his religious identity would not affect his policy positions.

Learn more at the ARDA: https://thearda.com/us-religion/history/timelines/entry?eid=312%7C1

On this day in 2006, the U.S. elected its first Buddhist and Muslim members of Congress: Keith Ellison, a Muslim from MN; Mazie Hirono, a Buddhist from HI; and Hank Johnson, a Buddhist from GA.

Learn more on the ARDA timelines: https://thearda.com/us-religion/history/timelines/interactive-display?tid=3

Did you use the ARDA as a resource for research that you are presenting at the SSSR meeting next week? Let us know in the comments, and we will promote your presentation on our Facebook and Twitter!

On this day in 1898, Japanese immigrants built the first Shinto shrine in the U.S., located in Hilo, Hawaii.

You can learn more on the ARDA by visiting our interactive historical timeline on religious minorities in the U.S. at the link below, and scrolling to the year 1898.

Timeline Interactive Display

On this day in religious history, Pres. Jimmy Carter was elected in 1976. He was the first "born again" evangelical president, and the last Democratic presidential candidate to get at least half of the white evangelical vote.

Learn more at the ARDA here:

Timeline Entry

Today is All Saints Day for the Western Church, a feast commemorating Christian saints and martyrs.

You can learn more about this holiday, along with terms from many different religions, in the ARDA's religion dictionary:

Religion Dictionary Abraham: The Hebrew Bible patriarch and father of the "Abrahamic," monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Prothero 2008: 193).

Happy Halloween from the ARDA! In honor of the holiday, here is one of our teaching modules that you can use to investigate ARDA data about the patterns in supernatural or paranormal beliefs in the United States.

Ghosts, UFOs, and Other Paranormal Beliefs When we think of religious beliefs, generally something “traditional” comes to mind, like faith in a god or belief in an afterlife. However, many people in the United States hold supernatural or paranormal beliefs that may not fit into tidy conceptualizations of what religion is. This learning m...