The Trend in "No Religion" Respondents to U.S. National Surveys, Late 1950s to Early 1980s

In: Public opinion quarterly: journal of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Band 51, Heft 3, S. 293-314

Abstract

Data from 110 US national surveys are used to study the trend in "no religion" responses from the late 1950s to the early 1980s. The trend was monotonically upward, at least until the 1980s, when there were signs of leveling off or an incipient reversal of the trend. The trend came about through both changes within birth cohorts & cohort succession, & it involved Rs of all major religious backgrounds, & both Ms & Fs. Whether or not the change indicates an important degree of secularization is considered at length. Problems involved in using a dichotomous indicator to gauge change in a quantitative variable are discussed. 8 Tables, 1 Figure, 27 References. HA