week one responds 770
arnita
week1responds.docxDouglas Wood
YesterdayJun 29 at 5:37pm
Research Title and Purpose
This Pew Research Center poll was entitled “10 key findings about the religious lives of U.S. teens and their parents” and was intended to uncover the ways in which teens’ religious lives do – or do not – reflect the religious lives of their parents.
Research Questions
Each of the following research questions represents an overall question extrapolated by the researchers, rather than a list of direct questions posed to the research sample. Several questions/answers were asked/examined to make a conclusion for each of the research questions below.
· What are the religious affiliations among American adolescents compared to their parents?
· What are the religious beliefs among American adolescents compared to their parents?
· What are teens’ religious practices compared to their parents?
· What are the Family religious practices represented in the sample?
· What do parents want for their teens religiously?
Research Population, Sample, and Sampling Process
The population in this sample of adolescents included 1,811 different ‘dyads’ – consisting of both an adolescent teen (aged 13-17 at the time of the study) and one parent per adolescent. The overall population’s margin of error was 3.1%. However, for some questions, due to smaller demographics, margin of error increased to as high as 9.0%.
Research Methodology
The sample was derived through various sampling methods employed between 29 March and 14 April 2019. Methods employed included both internet and non-internet sources. Non-internet sampling was conducted via telephone (both cellular and land line) and mail.
Demographic specifics were important to the research questions and therefore were utilized in the survey instrument. Religious affiliation was broken down between Christian and “Unaffiliated,” with the Christians further broken down between Evangelical Protestants, Mainline Protestants, and Catholics. Gender of the teens, race/ethnicity, regularity of church attendance, importance of religion, region of the country in which the sampled lived, and political party were also polled.
Research Results and Conclusions
As the title of the research states, ten “key” results were derived, though conclusions were left to the reader. To go through each would be to make this post entirely too long. However, there is one which this writer would like to highlight.
There was a marked difference between Mainline Protestants’ sharing of religious identity between parents and teens versus the other identified groups. Evangelicals, Catholics, and “Unaffiliated” all showed between 80-86% similarity, however, Mainlines were at a mere 55% (with 24% of Mainline teens identifying themselves in the “Unaffiliated” group). This massive difference can be partially accounted for by the 9.0% margin of error in the Mainlines’ sample. This was only a tad above the Evangelical and Catholic margins (6.6% and 6.4% respectively). Further, even if margin for error were at the limits of each, the difference between the “Unaffiliated” and the Mainlines would still be a statistically significant 6%. This represents a huge issue for Mainlines and reveals a massive hemorrhage of future members.
For other results please review the story linked below.
References
Diamant, J. & Sciupac, E. J., (2020, September 10). 10 key findings about the religious lives of U.S. teens and their parents. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/10/10-key-findings-about-the-religious-lives-of-u-s-teens-and-their-parents/
Full report: https://www.pewforum.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/09/PF_20.09.10_teens.religion.full_.report.pdf
President Biden & Religion: PEW Research
1. Research Title and Purpose
Title: Most Democrats and Republicans Know Biden Is Catholic, but They Differ Sharply About How Religious He Is
Purpose: The survey’s goal was to gauge Americans’ knowledge and opinion of Biden’s and Harris’ religious faith, and the Catholic Church’s future attitude/response (in giving communion) to politicians who disagree with the Catholic church’s teachings.
Research Question(s)
1. Here is a list of some political figures. How religious do you think each person is?
1. Joe Biden
2. Kamala Harris
2. As far as you know, what is Joe Biden’s religion?
3. As far as you know, what is Kamala Harris’ religion?
4. Do you think Joe Biden mentions his religious faith and prayer…
5. Please indicate whether you think Catholic politicians should be allowed to receive Communion in the Catholic Church if they disagree with the Church’s teachings on the following issues.
6. Thinking specifically about Joe Biden and his views about abortion, do you think he should be allowed to receive Communion in the Catholic Church?
II. Research Population, Sample, and Sampling Process
The survey was administered to a panel of 12,055 U.S. adults (panelists) which included 2492 Catholics through an online survey (a project of the Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel [ATP]). There was a random sampling of U.S. residential addresses weighted to represent a broad cross-section of the U.S. adult population. A subset of the panelists
III. Research Methodology
The Pew Research Center ATP pool of respondents comprises 10,000 randomly selected adults from across the U.S. who respond to surveys frequently. The ATP conducts annual recruitments of panelists to maintain fresh sampling and to account for attrition. Respondents are recruited from the United Postal Service’s Delivery Sequence File and survey-takers respond online or through mailed paper questionnaires. Surveys are usually conducted in subsets of the panelists, usually taking about seven days, with data collection normally lasting six to fourteen days. Respondents may choose to receive a paid incentive by check or gifts card. The data is weighed in a multistep process and calibrated to match population benchmarks (e.g., political party affiliation, religious affiliation, age, education, geography, sex, and race).
IV. Research Results and Conclusions
The research shows that respondents’ views on Biden in particular and politicians' leanings on Catholic teachings fall along party lines. This is not surprising. Twenty-seven percent of respondents agree Biden is very religious, while thirty-seven percent say he is somewhat religious. Compare these findings to forty-five percent of democrat leaning respondents and seven percent of republican leaning respondents who say he is very religious. No surprise on whether Biden mentioned his faith during the campaign trail and in public life – sixty-one percent of all respondents, seventy-nine percent democrat leaning and forty-two percent republican leaning respondents agree he does this about the right amount of time. And while respondents on both parties know that Biden is Catholic, two-thirds of republican leaning say that Biden is “Catholic-in-name-only.”
The research also shows that most Americans are not familiar with Harris’ religious affiliation (two-thirds). Falling along party lines, sixty-nine percent of Democrats versus nineteen percent of Republicans see Harris as somewhat religious. Not surprising, the research shows that Black Protestants leans Democrat (seventy-eight percent agree Harris is religious), and white Protestants (twenty percent agree Harris is religious) leans Republican.
Additionally, respondents generally agree that Biden’s views about abortion and homosexuality should not disqualify him from receiving communion in the Catholic church (there is a call by U.S. bishops to deny Biden the Eucharist). Only a small percentage of Catholic respondents (three in ten) say that Catholic politicians who disagree with the Church’s teachings on abortion, homosexuality, the death penalty, and immigration should be disqualified from receiving the Eucharist.
If Christian leaders wish to effectively reach greater audience demographics, then it is essential that emotional intelligence be applied to communication. Social science research may provide tools, data, and discipline necessary for critical/biblical thinking and audience appeal. Far too many Christian leaders “went off the reservation” during the recent election cycles (2016 & 2020) because they did not consider how their views and biases would affect/impact their audience. Kiedis (n.d.) contends that “research training” spills over into all areas of the leaders’ life and “shapes their thinking and use of data.” As well, this author agrees with Barna (2015) that Christian leaders missed a great opportunity to contribute to the (political) conversation as “one-quarter of conservative pastors did not teach their congregants biblical principles about important social and political issues during the six months preceding the election” (p. 11). Given the priority of ministry includes mind transformation (Rom. 12:2), social science research can greatly assist Christian leaders in fulfilling their edification goals.
References:
Barna. (2015, August). God’s people want to know. American Culture & Faith Institute. https://www.care-net.org/hubfs/WhatChristiansWantPastorstoPreachAbout_1.pdf
Keidis, T. (n.d.). Research and Leadership. CLED 770 Lecture. Liberty University.
Pew Research Center. (2021, March 31). Most Democrats and Republicans know Biden is Catholic, but they differ sharply about how religious he is. https://www.pewforum.org/2021/03/30/most-democrats-and-republicans-know-biden-is-catholic-but-they-differ-sharply-about-how-religious-he-is/
