Ahead of the Trend — January 2025

Ahead of the Trend Newsletter

Each month, Dr. Ryan Burge, associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, publishes two columns highlighting the latest news in religion research utilizing data from the ARDA. We are excited to share these Ahead of the Trend articles with you.

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Are Americans Especially Distrustful of Religion?

Trust in American institutions has eroded significantly over the last several decades. The General Social Survey has asked respondents about their confidence in over a dozen institutions, including the federal government, major companies, and the scientific community. But given the nature of this newsletter, we want to focus on one specific example: organized religion.

The share of people who said that they had a great deal of trust in organized religion has really taken a dive. Between 1972 and 1990, that share dropped from about 38% to just about 25%. It stayed at that level for about fifteen years, then began to slide again. In the most recent data, about 15% of folks expressed a great deal of confidence in religion, while the share who had hardly any trust has risen from 15% in 1972 to 35% now.

Have Views of Marital Fidelity Changed Over Time?

The command to stay faithful to one’s marital partner is found in many major religious traditions. Yet, a lot has changed around the issue of sex in the United States in the last fifty years. Did this huge cultural movement actually result in noticeable changes in the sexual ethics of Americans in the area of marital infidelity? Interpreting data collected since 1973 in the General Social Survey, we seek to understand how opinions on sexual relations outside of marriage may have changed over time.

Previous Ahead of the Trend Articles:

Gender Identity, Religion, and Political Ideology in 2023 How do voters feel generally about the issue of gender identity? It’s something that polling has only started asking about in the last few years. The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) polled over 5,400 Americans about a variety of topics related to gender identity back in March of 2023, and the results offer a lot of nuance related to how the public is thinking through gender.

What Is the Role of the Chaplain in the 21st Century? Chaplains can play a significant role in the spiritual life of Americans. The most evident conclusion from this survey was that when people deal with a chaplain they almost universally report that it was a good experience. Over 90% of folks said that their chaplain was compassionate, a good listener, trustworthy, spiritual, and knowledgeable.

The Association of Religion Data Archives | Website