ACADEMIC RESEARCH
Even as religion appears to be a growing force in world affairs, the size of the non-religious population is increasing in many countries. Between 1990 and 2008 the number of adults in the U.S. who professed no religion increased from 14 million to 34 million according to the American Religious Identification Survey 2008 (ARIS). “No Religion: A Profile of America’s Unchurched” found that one-third of those professing no religion in 2001 were under 30 years old. For the full ARIS report, see Religion in a Free Market (Paramount Market Publishing Inc., 2006).
With a global research agenda, the Institute studies secularism and secularization by gathering and analyzing data on secular populations in the U.S. and abroad; see Secularism & Secularity: Contemporary International Perspectives (2007) and the new book, Secularism & Science in the 21st Century (2008).
ISSSC also explores the worldviews and opinions of scientific professionals. The first phase of the international research project gathered information on beliefs and values from a large sample of Indian scientists. Worldviews and Opinions of Scientists in India was conducted in collaboration with the Center for Inquiry-India in Hyderabad.
Released September 2009:
American Nones: The Profile of the No Religion Population
A Report Based on the American Religious Identification Survey 2008
Principal Investigators: Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar with Ryan Cragun and Juhem Navarro-Rivera
American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) 2008
Principal Investigators: Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar
Replicating the methodology of ARIS 2001, ISSSC undertook a large national survey of American religion and secularism. Through a collaboration with the FORA 2008, the new survey includes special modules on Catholic, Mainline Christian, Evangelical Born-again, African American and No Religion populations.
Click Here to Visit the ARIS 2008 Website