Description
This book helps congregations understand the changing religious landscape of the United States and the trends shaping the future of faith communities. It supports congregational leaders in interpreting demographic shifts, religious diversity, and patterns of affiliation that affect ministry, outreach, and long-term planning.Author Ryan Burge believes that understanding religion requires attention to reliable data and demographic trends. In this book, he uses large national datasets to share accessible insights into the size, distribution, and characteristic of twelve major religious traditions and the religiously unaffiliated in the United States.
With accessible data visualization, this book examines how immigration, secularization, generational change, and cultural shifts are reshaping American religion.
Features
- Charts, graphs, and maps
- Statistical analysis of major national religious datasets
- Historical overview of American religion
- Chapters on twelve religious traditions and affiliations
- Chapter on the future of American religion
- Bibliography
Practical Applications
- Use the book as a launching place for conversations about the future of congregational life by discussing the book's findings on generational change and religious affiliation trends.
- Read the chapter on religiously unaffiliated Americans to better understand community members who may have little or no connection to organized religion.
- Learn how demographic religious trends are changing so your congregation can make more informed decisions about outreach and ministry.
