Measuring Religion in the American Suburbs: How Surveys Involving Religion Inconsistently Determine Locations

• In Event: 262 - Section on Sociology of Religion Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 08. Measuring and Defining Religion

Abstract

As American suburbs change with increasing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity and shifting political patterns within a range of unique suburban types and communities, an analysis of 89 surveys involving religion in the Association of Religion Data Archives shows a lack of consensus in how to measure suburban locations. The 529 questions addressing suburban locations differ in three major ways: a majority allows respondents to self-report their location, leading to more selecting small towns; there are a variety of response categories, often with options that are not mutually exclusive; and some surveys do not approximate national percentages of Americans who live in the suburbs. Because of a lack of a consistent approach to measuring locations, the surveys limit what can be broadly known about how American religiosity may be similar or different within American suburbs, cities, and rural areas.

Author

• Brian J. Miller, Wheaton College