Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Politics and Religion

Social Science

Select a Category America Apologetics Art baseball Bible Blog Christ Church crime Culture Economics Education Ethics Family Food Football Government History Holidays Holy Week Humor International Islam Language Law Life Issues Literature Media Medicine Movies Music Nature News Personal Philosophy Politics psychology Reformation Religions Sacraments Science sex Social Science Sports technology television terrorism Theology Uncategorized Vocation war

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007

November 2014

November 13, 2014

Church design that appeal to Millennials

The Christian pollsters and research company the Barna Group has researched what kind of church...

November 06, 2014

The first New Class president

Sociologist Peter Berger discusses the Houston mayor subpoening sermons (which have been cancelled, by the...

November 03, 2014

Discovery of how to keep young people in the church

A new study has discovered what is being called the "holy grail" for keeping teenagers...

October 2014

October 27, 2014

Non-citizens who vote illegally

Those who worry about illegal voting are often dismissed with the claim that this hardly...

October 14, 2014

Psychology experiments often can’t be replicated

There is currently what is being described as a "crisis" in the field of social

October 08, 2014

The biggest factor in a child’s educational success

A British study has found that the biggest factor in a child's educational success is...

September 2014

September 10, 2014

Should Christianity try to be “cool”?

Brett McCracken, author of Hipster Christianity, argues that there are intrinsic contradictions inherent in the...

July 2014

July 25, 2014

Do kids raised by same-sex couples really fare better?

The media has been trumpeting an Australian study that purported to show that children raised...

July 21, 2014

Effects of churches that teach vocation?

A Baylor study has found that people who attend churches that teach God's presence in...

June 2014

June 25, 2014

Divorce statistics are greatly exaggerated

It's often said that 50% of marriages end in divorce. A new book says that...

May 2014

May 08, 2014

Social scientists discover love

In a column on efforts to help young people in the Dominican Republic, Michael Gerson...

May 05, 2014

Global poverty is plummeting, but no one believes it

Thirty years ago, 52% of the world's population lived in extreme poverty. Now only 21%...

April 2014

April 03, 2014

Life’s happiness as a U-shaped curve

When you're a child, you are happy, but you become less so during your teenage...

March 2014

March 06, 2014

The happiest & unhappiest states in the union

Gallup has compiled various statistics about "well-being" (health, work, emotional satisfaction, etc.) and has come...

December 2013

December 11, 2013

Signs of being divorce-proof

Here are five bits of social science research that would indicate a person is unlikely...

December 10, 2013

Churches, sects, denominations, and non-denominations

Sociologist of religion Peter Berger (an ELCA Lutheran) discusses the phenomenon of the Sunday Assembly,...

October 2013

October 14, 2013

Pop sociologist embaces Christianity

Malcolm Gladwell is the author of Outliers and The Tipping Point, works of what has...

October 11, 2013

Don’t make eye contact

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" we might say when trying to get...

October 07, 2013

Introverts strike back

The ideal in the business world, especially for corporate leaders, has been the glad-handing extrovert. ...

August 2013

August 30, 2013

A sociologist looks at Progressive vs. Conservative Christianity

In the context of a discussion about a growing movement of conservative Catholicism in England,...

August 16, 2013

Social mobility requires social capital

You know the American Dream, that in this country if people work hard and grab...

August 15, 2013

City vs. Suburbs

Retiring baby-boomers are increasingly moving away from their houses in the suburbs to condos in...

August 14, 2013

The Six Types of Atheists

Christians have their different theologies. Conservatism comprises a number of different ideologies. Now studies are...

June 2013

June 20, 2013

College does NOT undermine faith

Glenn T. Stanton, in a useful feature at Gospel Coalition called "FactChecker," cites research overturning...

June 06, 2013

How Gallup blew the presidential election polling

On the eve of the last election, the venerable polling firm Gallup predicted that Mitt...

April 2013

April 29, 2013

Protestant schools and volunteerism

Interesting findings reported in Christianity Today, including a nice shout-out to Lutheran schools (the largest...

April 01, 2013

Unorganized religion

Michael Gerson discusses the 20% of Americans who describe their religion as "none." It isn't...

March 2013

March 27, 2013

Learning from gay activists

Homosexuals have pulled what may be the greatest public relations revolution in history, going from...

March 22, 2013

Bogus youth drop-out statistics

Nine out of ten young people leave the church as soon as they graduate. That...

March 20, 2013

58% of Americans want gay marriage

A large and growing majority of Americans--58%--now support gay marriage, according to a new poll. ...