Most Americans say they believe in God, and more than a third say they attend religious services every week. Yet studies show that people do not really go to church as often as they claim, and it is not always clear what they mean when they tell pollsters they believe in God or pray. American Religion presents the best and most up-to-date information about religious trends in the United States, in a succinct and accessible manner. This sourcebook provides essential information about key developments in American religion since 1972, and is the first major resource of its kind to appear in more than two decades.
Mark Chaves looks at trends in diversity, belief, involvement, congregational life, leadership, liberal Protestant decline, and polarization. He draws on two important surveys: the General Social Survey, an ongoing survey of Americans’ changing attitudes and behaviors, begun in 1972; and the National Congregations Study, a survey of American religious congregations across the religious spectrum. Chaves finds that American religious life has seen much continuity in recent decades, but also much change. He challenges the popular notion that religion is witnessing a resurgence in the United States—in fact, traditional belief and practice is either stable or declining. Chaves examines why the decline in liberal Protestant denominations has been accompanied by the spread of liberal Protestant attitudes about religious and social tolerance, how confidence in religious institutions has declined more than confidence in secular institutions, and a host of other crucial trends.
Now with updated data and a new preface by the author, this revised edition provides essential information about key developments in American religion since 1972, plainly showing that religiosity is declining in America.
Awards and Recognition
- Winner of the 2012 Christianity and Culture Book Award, Christianity Today
"Chaves has provided new scholars, nonspecialists in the sociology of religion, and the general public with an accessible and accurate text that gathers a wide range of information into one place, and does so in barely more than 100 pages. Chaves's American Religion will serve as an important introduction to the topic and a reference for scholars, religious leaders, and the general public for years to come."—Paul J. Olson, Sociology of Religion
"In this brief book sociologist Chaves traces changes occurring in religion in the U.S. between 1972 and 2008. . . . Chaves demonstrates that the overall picture of religion in the U.S. is one of continuity and stability rather than dramatic change. Nevertheless subtle changes are occurring, and this book does an excellent job of sifting through the data."—Choice
"American Religion, for such a thin book, packs a punch, providing helpful insights and myth-busting perspectives on almost every page. This really is a book that every pastor should take the time to read. It will be a quick but powerful dose of the state of American religion."—Andrew Root, Word & World
"Chaves' study offers a rich, textured, and well-researched account of American religiosity. The book will serve to advance undergraduate and graduate learning concerning the complex and oftentimes complicated nexus between U.S. religion and politics. It will also interest scholars, policymakers, and the general public who care about how religion currently features in American public life and what future directions it may take."—Catherine E. Wilson, Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies
"Unsettling though it may be, American Religion is essential reading for pastors and lay leaders alike who want to understand the larger social context in which the mainline church both struggles and endures."—Rebekah Peeples Massengill, Interpretation
"Chaves's book raises more questions than it answers. Maybe that should be expected from a descriptive piece: the variety of data selected and presented naturally begs interpretation. For this reason, I think that Chaves's volume would also make a useful foil with graduate students in social science."—Penny Long Marler, Social Forces
"Praise for the previous edition: "Chaves' study offers a rich, textured, and well-researched account of American religiosity.""—Catherine E. Wilson, Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies
"Praise for the previous edition: "Unsettling though it may be, American Religion is essential reading for pastors and lay leaders alike who want to understand the larger social context in which the mainline church both struggles and endures.""—Rebekah Peeples Massengill, Interpretation
"Praise for the previous edition: "Chaves has provided new scholars, nonspecialists in the sociology of religion, and the general public with an accessible and accurate text that gathers a wide range of information into one place…. Chaves's American Religion will serve as an important introduction to the topic and a reference for scholars, religious leaders, and the general public for years to come.""—Paul J. Olson, Sociology of Religion
"Praise for the previous edition: "American Religion, for such a thin book, packs a punch, providing helpful insights and myth-busting perspectives on almost every page. This really is a book that every pastor should take the time to read. It will be a quick but powerful dose of the state of American religion.""—Andrew Root, Word & World
"American Religion promises to become the book of record for people interested in religious trends in American society. The U.S. Census does not include questions on religion. So while many other aspects of American economy and society get decennial descriptives, religion is left to advocates, activists, and scholars. Chaves fills the gap with numbers, and context enough for the general reader to digest."—Michael Hout, coauthor of Century of Difference: How America Changed in the Last One Hundred Years
"This book provides key facts so that those who wish to discuss or debate American religion can do so knowledgeably. It covers a rich amount of material, showing the many ways religion in the United States is remarkably unchanged over the past forty years, and the important ways it has changed. Mark Chaves is one of the very top scholars of American religion."—Michael O. Emerson, coauthor of People of the Dream: Multiracial Congregations in the United States
Praise for the previous edition: "An invaluable contribution to clarifying the facts about religious change in America."—Robert Putnam, coauthor of American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
