April 2025 Newsletter

Thank you for your interest in the ARDA and our mission of bringing you free, high-quality data on religion. Each month, we highlight the newest data sets and resources available through the ARDA.



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Newest Data Set Additions:



Explore the most recent data sets on the ARDA:
 

Ahead of the Trend:


How Does the Public Feel About Sex Among Teenagers?

Evangelical sexual ethics have shifted very little over the last 35 years. There's been a decline, for certain, but it’s relatively small. For other Christian groups, the shifts have been much larger. The data shows you can generally divide Christianity into two camps on this issue: Evangelicals and Black Protestants are in one group and mainline Protestants and Catholics are in the other.


The Truth Isn't Out There: Religion and Belief in Aliens

There’s certainly reason to assume that belief in alien encounters is related to religiosity. For example, there’s a clear relationship between how an individual views the Bible and how they view the idea of alien encounters. The group that is most skeptical of extraterrestrials are biblical literalists. The graph on the right is building a case that religiosity is negatively related to views of alien encounters.
 

David Briggs Honored with Religion News Association's Lifetime Achievement Award



Long-time Ahead of the Trend writer David Briggs will receive the 2025 William A. Reed Lifetime Achievement Award from Religion News Association. We are grateful for David's many years of bringing the latest news and data on religion to a wide readership.


For more details about David's career and accomplishment, read the full press release from the Religion News Association.

Feature of the Month:


Statistics on Beliefs, Behaviors and Belonging (QuickStats)

Public display of religious symbols. The importance of converting others. Belief in bigfoot.


The ARDA includes a repository of quick statistics on more than 80 topics like the above related to attitudes, beliefs, and characteristics of congregations and clergy.
 

This Month’s Historical Events:


In April, there are many anniversaries of significant events in religious history. These include Augustus Tolton becoming the first African American Catholic priest (1886), the beginning of the Azusa Street Revival as the catalyst of American Pentecostalism (1906), and the founding of the National Association of Evangelicals to provide representation in Washington, D.C. (1942).

Social Media:


Join the conversation about religion data on social media by following us on Bluesky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.


Conversations in March our feature on religious traditions, a call for feedback on resources being utilized in the classroom, and the newest data additions to the archive.

Submitting Data to the ARDA:


Do you have a data source that you would like to store in our archive? The process is safe, easy, and convenient. We even have resources to reimburse you for your time. Get the process started by clicking on the link below. If you know of a data source that you'd like us to pursue, please let us know at support@thearda.com.

Download the submission form here.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
 
 
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