PEW Study Suggests Changes in Relgious Landscape

A recently released study by PEW suggests that the "Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing. Moreover, these changes are taking place across the religious landscape, affecting all regions of the country and many demographic groups. While the drop in Christian affiliation is particularly pronounced among young adults, it is occurring among Americans of all ages. The same trends are seen among whites, blacks and Latinos; among both college graduates and adults with only a high school education; and among women as well as men"

Unfortunately the most recent local data available is from 2010 and mainly comes through the Association of Religion Data Archives.  It is a great piece of data but limited to five years ago.

We have done several post on this topic including the following:

Religious Traditions and SubFamilies for Herkimer and Oneida Counties

The Regional Decline of Religious Adherents: 1980 Versus 2010 

 Religious Adherents by County

Second Most Common Religious Following By State and County

Second Most Common Religious Following By State and County

This is an interesting infographic, via the Washington Post, on the second most popular religious following by state.  While Christianity is first across the country, there is some definite patterns to which religion is second around the nation. The WP also  published an even more detailed breakdown by county.

Christianity is the largest religion in the US, by a wide margin: more than three-quarters of Americans identify as Christians. Buddhism is second. The data comes from a 2010 census sponsored by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.

 National

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Counties

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 New York Counties

To see ALL of the religion traditions of our region, visit this previous post on relgious adherents. 

The Regional Decline of Religious Adherents: 1980 Versus 2010

With the Easter season upon us, I wanted to take a quick look at the religious data available through the 2010 Religious Congregations & Membership Study (RCMS) and the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA). A previous post about religious membership in both counties provided some basics as to where we are in terms of congregations and adherents, however I was curious about how this has changed over the years.

The 2010 RCMS comes with some historical data as well. Below are two charts, one for Herkimer and Oneida Counties, that compare the number of adherents in four basic religious traditions for each area. The implication is pretty clear - there has been a considerable decline in the number of adherents (which include all full members, their children, and others who regularly attend services) as well as the mix of the traditions within each county. While those practicing Catholicism remain a steady dominant religious group, Evangelical Protestants show the most growth since 1980.

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Religious Traditions and SubFamilies for Herkimer and Oneida Counties

One of the most difficult pieces of data to find, and yet one of the most asked about, is religious affiliation and congregation information. There is only one source that I have ever found with any county level data available and that is the Association of Religion Data Archives.

The ARDA strives to democratize access to the best data on religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997 and going online in 1998, the initial archive was targeted at researchers interested in American religion. The targeted audience and the data collection have both greatly expanded since 1998, now including American and international collections and developing features for educators, journalists, religious congregations, and researchers. Data included in the ARDA are submitted by the foremost religion scholars and research centers in the world.

While ARDA has done its own survey work, they haven't done a nation wide survey of congregants since 2000. They are hoping to complete a new survey sometime this year, however. In the meantime the most recent data source with County level information that they cite on the website comes from InfoGroup USA. This is the result of data they collected during the 2009.

In addition to using Yellow and White pages to collect basic information, InfoGroup associates utilize denominational directories and web research to enhance the data with additional information including religious denomination, congregational size, worship attendance, church school size, and various church ministries. New congregations are identified through utility connects and other public sources. In the final stage of compilation, congregations are called by phone to verify and enhance listed information. Throughout all stages of compilation, associates attempt to collect names and email addresses for three congregational leaders: senior clergy (person in charge), youth clergy, and the music ministry contact.

This data is then assigned as belonging to a religious "tradition" as well as a religious "family". Religious Traditions categorize groups based on current religious beliefs and acceptance of the larger culture, but give little attention to denominational lineage. Religious Families organize religious groups based on their common religious ancestry or heritage, regardless of their current religious beliefs or social positions.

Below is the 2009 data for both Herkimer and Oneida Counties. It includes the traditions and families data breakouts.

Religious Adherents By County

One of the only sites I am aware of that provides any sort of data on the number and types of religious adherents by county is at The Association of Religious Data Archives. The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) strives to democratize access to the best data on religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997 and going online in 1998, the initial archive was targeted at researchers interested in American religion. The targeted audience and the data collection have both greatly expanded since 1998, now including American and international collections and developing features for educators, journalists, religious congregations, and researchers. Data included in the ARDA are submitted by the foremost religion scholars and research centers in the world.

The biggest issue with the ARDA at the moment is that their data is a decade old. While still great information, there is a need to see updated information on religiosity. Fortunately the ARDA does have plans, hopefully this Spring, to release new data on religious affiliations.

In the mean time here are links to Oneida County and Herkimer County 2000 religious data.