Social Science Data Resources: Religion

Access to thousands of social science datasets for research and instruction. A first place to start in looking for social science data for secondary analysis.

"Serve(s) as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy." Includes the Decennial Census, the American Community Survey the Economic Census, and more.

Features an alphabetical list of data resources from government agencies. Includes all topics from health, education, economic, crime, child and family, immigration, genealogy, labor and many more.

Survey of voting behavior in the United States, conducted biennially since 1956. Basic questions on religious identification and attendance at religious services have been asked throughout the time series but the religion module was substantially widened and improved starting in 1990, making possible richer analyses of how religion affects political attitudes and behavior within the United States. Contains links to download all the data.

This data set offers information on Americans' opinions about the role of the arts relative to religion.

ARDA holds over 200 surveys on religion, including general population surveys, surveys of selected religious groups, surveys of religious professionals, and aggregate church, congregational and denominational data.

The GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings. The GSS takes the pulse of America, and is a unique and valuable resource.

A crossnational collaborative program that develops topical modules dealing with important areas of social science as supplements to regular national surveys in more than 20 countries. Topics have included religion, family and gender roles, role of the government, social inequality, the environment, and work attitudes.

A nationally representative study of congregations carried out via interviews with congregational informants, mostly clergy. Conducted in conjunction with the 1998 General Social Survey (GSS). Respondents reported on a wide variety of congregational activities. A sample size of 1236.

Investigates neighborhood-community integration, services, crime and community contact, the role of religion and the church, physical and mental health, self-esteem, life satisfaction, employment, the effects of chronic unemployment, the effects of race on the job, interaction with family and friends, racial attitudes, race identity, group stereotypes, and race ideology.

The North American Jewish Data Bank is a repository for demographic and other quantitative social scientific surveys about Jews in the United States and Canada. It archives the National Jewish Population Surveys as well as a number of community surveys.

The series is designed to enable a cross-national comparison of values and norms on a wide variety of topics and to monitor changes in values and attitudes across the globe. A variety of questions on religion and morality were included. Data is currently available for 1981-1984, 1990-1993, 1995-1997, and 1999-2005. The World Values Survey Association is carrying out a new wave of surveys during 2011-2012.