Smaller and Browner: Assessing Methods and (In)Accuracy in the Study of Congregations

• In Event: 2329 - Section on the Sociology of Religion Referred Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 1. Congregations

Abstract

Religious congregations are the main site of organized religious activity in the United States, but how accurate is our empirical portrait of this organizational population? In the past twenty years, data collection sources on congregations have proliferated, producing collective wisdom about congregational characteristics such as size, clergy race, attendees’ race, and non-English worship. However, despite recent concern about the accuracy of sociological research, and the public visibility of findings about congregation-based religion, no one has compared these different sources. Our paper compares the statistical estimates of salient variables between data sources, examining three different congregational populations (all congregations, Catholic congregations, and Hispanic Catholic congregations). We report estimates which show that congregations are likely smaller and led by more minority clergy than some research has suggested. We also report estimates that show many more Hispanics in Catholic congregations, and more Catholic congregations that serve Hispanics and ethnic minorities, than some research has suggested. Using a unique survey metadata source from the National Opinion Research Center, we show that estimate differences between surveys are especially due to different response rates, but also underlying differences in sampling design. We conclude with suggestions for the future of research on religious congregations.

Authors

• Gary Adler, Pennsylvania State University

• Brad R. Fulton, Indiana University

• Catherine Hoegeman, Missouri State University