Measuring Religious Identification in the United States

A popular measure of religious identification poses several problems for researchers because of its lack of conceptual and historical grounding. The scheme truncates continuity along the well-established sect-church continuum, and poses problems for both theory and methodological operationalization....

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Woodard-Lehman, Derek Alan (Author) ; Sherkat, Darren E. 1965- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell [2018]
In: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Year: 2018, Volume: 57, Issue: 4, Pages: 779-794
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B USA / Religious community / Identification / Religious identity / Measurability
IxTheo Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
CB Christian life; spirituality
KBQ North America
Further subjects:B methodological operationalization
B Protestant classification
B religious identification
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Description
Summary:A popular measure of religious identification poses several problems for researchers because of its lack of conceptual and historical grounding. The scheme truncates continuity along the well-established sect-church continuum, and poses problems for both theory and methodological operationalization. We reiterate the importance of key sociological and historical foundations for classifying religious groups, provide an empirical assessment of a more exacting scheme compared to the newly dominant classification, and supply a coding system for the General Social Survey which could also be applied to other studies. We conclude by discussing the usefulness of our categorization for advancing social science research on religious identification.
ISSN:1468-5906
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12543