Mirror Sites:
CSUDH - Habermas - UWP - Archives

California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Created: May 19, 2004
Latest Update: May 19, 2004
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

Changing Patterns of Religion in the US

This piece is based on Jewish Faces in a Changing America: The Numbers Speak for Themselves in the Forward, a Jewish newspaper jeanne takes regularly. rticle by David Harris. Backup. The article points out the changing patterns of religious observance in the United States, and compares that observance to those of other natons.

We find ourselves presently in a sociocultural framework that would seem to dictate a turn to the spiritual. Greed and exploitation, on all levels of society, seem to have followed the imperialism of past ages. We're going to take a page from the article by David Harris, and find some way to understand our own spiritual needs.

Census Bureau HomePage

Choose Subjects A - Z, R for religion: R

Link to Religion: Relgion

Discussion Questions:

1. Stop there and answer why the US Census Bureau is not the best place to get information on religious affiliation.

   Consider the constitutional position on religion and the state in the US. Consdier also the second sentence on the page: "Public Law 94-521 prohibits us from asking a question on religious affiliation on a mandatory basis; therefore, the Bureau of the Census is not the source for information on religion."

   Choose one of the archives of religious affiliation and look for data that would help us in this discussion:

   Try: American Religion Data Archive
   Department of Sociology and Anthropology
   Purdue University
   website :www.ARDA.tm

   I chose this one because it's an academic institution and a department of sociology and anthropology. Link to the websire. You'll need to add http:// in front of the URL. http://www.ARDA.tm.