Pew Research Centre Launches Call for Research Proposals Using global Religious Futures Project Datasets
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Pew Research Center, with funding from the John templeton Foundation, is soliciting research proposals that utilize data from its Global Religious Futures (GRF) project, aiming to foster new scholarship in the field of religious demographics.
The Spring 2024 Survey Dataset
The primary dataset available for research is the Spring 2024 Survey, which contains measures of religion and spirituality collected from 35 countries. This dataset provides a valuable resource for comparative analysis of religious beliefs and practices across diverse populations.
The survey measures a wide range of religious and spiritual indicators, including religious affiliation, frequency of worship, importance of religion in daily life, and beliefs about God and the afterlife. Researchers can use this data to explore the relationship between religion and various social, economic, and political factors.
Such as, the dataset includes data showing that in 2024, approximately 84% of respondents in India identify with a religion, compared to 63% in Sweden, highlighting meaningful cross-national differences in religious affiliation.
U.S. Data Availability
In addition to the international dataset, comparable data was collected in 2023 and 2024 specifically for the United States.
Researchers interested in focusing on the U.S. religious landscape can leverage this data to examine trends in religious affiliation, belief, and practice within the country. The downloadable materials accompanying the international dataset include detailed information about the U.S. data, facilitating comparative studies between the U.S. and other nations.
A 2024 Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. data revealed a continuing decline in the percentage of Americans identifying as Christian,falling from 75% in 2015 to 63% in 2024,demonstrating a significant shift in the religious composition of the country.
Submission and Timeline
Pew Research Center encourages researchers to analyse these datasets for presentations at social science conferences in 2026 and for subsequent publications. The call for proposals aims to stimulate new research and contribute to a deeper understanding of global religious trends.
