LibGuides: Religion: Data and Statistics: Home

Popular Resources

Social Explorer
Social Explorer creates maps and reports of religious congregations based on the Religious Congregations and Membership Study for 1980, 1990, 2000 and has 2009 data from the InfoGroup American Church Lists.
Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA)
This comprehensive resource is more than just a data archive! Also included are National Profiles, reports and maps of U.S. Congregational Membership, information on Denominations, QuickStats from major national surveys, ranked lists of religious groups, maps, and a Learning Center.

Hosted by University of Manchester. Data sets and opinion surveys from Britain on religious affiliation, public knowledge about the life of Jesus, public attitudes about the truthworthiness of the clergy, etc. Also historical data about religion in Great Britain.

Statistical Indexes & Databases

Major Statistical Indexes & Databases
Link to guide with descriptions of the major multidisciplinary subscription statistical indexes and databases at the MSU Libraries

Statista This link opens in a new window
Provides statistics and reports on a wide variety of topics including agriculture, advertising, health, hospitality, consumer goods and services, sports, technology, transportation, and much more.

Introduction

“To represent the religious history of America statistically and geographically is to generalize dangerously to court disaster openly.”

(Source: New Historical Atlas of Religion in America)

Statistics on religion, like most other statistics, must be interpreted with a critical eye. Data on religion may be reported at either the insitutional level or the individual level. That is, there are surveys of religious insitutions themselves and there are surveys of individuals and their self-reported attitudes and affilitiations. Keep in mind that surveys of religious institutions are also self-reporting, so over-reporting of membership is more likely that under-reporting. The diversity of religious organizations and varying definitions of membership can also have an effect on comparing membership numbers among different organizations. Some organizations may not share reports with the public, or even keep numbers. There has been no government-mandated count of religious organizations since the last Religious Bodies census taken in 1936.

Most of the resources that you encounter in this guide will have a disclaimer explaining the collection method and nature of the data. Be sure to read this section!

Getting Started

ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the United States (2013-present)
- Browse to bottom of Section 1. Population, or use the search feature. Includes tables on Self-Described Religious Identification Of Adult Population, Religious Adherents And Jewish Population by States, Religious Adherents By Metropolitan Area Status And Religious Groups, Religious Bodies-Selected Data (from the 2015 edition).
Statistical Abstract of the United States (1878-2012)
- Population: Religion (2012 Statistical Abstract of the United States). (scroll to bottom of page) This section includes tables on the religious composition of the U.S. population, selected data on religious bodies, and numbers of Christian adherents and the Jewish population by state.