MTS Research & Writing Guide: Religion Data & Statistics

The Association of Religion Data Archives attempts to democratize access to the best data on religion. Founded in 1997, it now includes American and international collections and developing features for educators, journalists, religious congregations, and researchers.

The Barna Group has tracked the role of faith in America, developing one of the nation's most comprehensive databases of spiritual indicators. Focus on the intersection of faith and culture.

Provides data on national indicators of child well-being and monitors changes in these indicators over time. Data is collected by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (Forum), a coalition of 23 Federal government agencies involved in research and activities related to children and families.

The GSS gathers data on contemporary American society in order to monitor and explain trends and constants in attitudes, behaviors, and attributes. It is considered one of the single best sources for sociological and attitudinal trend data covering the United States.

LGBTData serves as a no-cost, open-access clearinghouse for the collection of sexual orientation & gender identity data and measures.

The National Congregational Study surveys a representative sample of America's churches, synagogues, mosques, and other local places of worship. Initiated in 1998, and repeated in 2006 and 2012, the NCS is based on in-depth interviews of congregational leaders.

The Pew Research Center seek to promote a deeper understanding of issues at the intersection of religion and public affairs in the U.S. and around the world. Through public opinion surveys, demographic studies and other social science research, they examine the religious composition of countries, the influence of religion on politics, the extent of government and social restrictions on religion, and views on abortion, same-sex marriage, stem cell research and many other topics.

This is an online database of public opinion polls containing the full text of 700,000+ questions and responses, from 18,000+ surveys and 1,700+ polling organizations, conducted from 1986 through the present in the United States and more than 100 other countries around the world.

Public Religion Research Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to conducting independent research at the intersection of religion, culture, and public policy. PRRI’s research explores and illuminates America’s changing cultural, religious, and political landscape.

The U.S. Religion Census offers religious data at the county level. It reports the number of congregations in every U.S. county equivalent for each of 236 faith groups. This is an update of the 1952, 1971, 1980, 1990, and 2000 studies originally done by the National Council of Churches and the Glenmary Research Center.

The Statistical Abstract of the United States, published from 1878 to 2012, is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. It includes religion data such as religious identification, religious bodies, church membership and attendance.

United Nations Data is a new internet based data service for the global user community. It brings UN statistical databases within easy reach of users through a single entry point. Users can now search and download a variety of statistical resources of the UN system.