Changing Faith

Darren E. Sherkat is Professor of Sociology at Southern Illinois University.

• Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction: Making Sense of American Religion 1 1 Religious Identification in America 31 2 Religious Switching and Religious Change 50 3 Belonging and Believing 90 4 Faith, Family, and Fortune 115 5 Religious Identification and Politics in the United States 145 Conclusions: Making Sense of Shifting Identities and Their Influence 174 References 193 Index 209 About the Author 213

"Provides a fascinating glimpse into the changing religious landscape in the U.S., telling us who the winners and losers have been in a half century of demographic and religious change. Using the best available data, Sherkat busts the myths concerning the rise in conservative Christianity, showing that non-Christians groups and unaffiliated nonbelievers have grown faster. Rather than supporting the notion that religions operate like a marketplace, Sherkat reminds us how important ethnic ties, immigrant origins, and fertility differentials are in contemporary religious affiliation. He makes a significant contribution by showing not just how religious affiliations have changed , but why it matters in how people form families and decide upon schooling and careers. If you want to know which denominations are growing or declining and, most importantly, why, this book is for you." - Jennifer Glass,Barbara Bush Regents Professor of Liberal Arts, University of Texas - Austin "Religious identification matters in the United States, shaping private and publicly-oriented behaviors. This book identifies immigration and generational change as major sources of change in religious identification, and shows why 'grand theories' do not help us to understand the religious landscape. . . . An important book which will serve as a resource for scholars and students who want an accurate, empirically-based understanding of the causes and implications of Americans' changing religious identifications." - Penny Edgell,author of Religion and Family in a Changing Society "Changing Faithis a well-written, compelling book. By illustrating the importance of demographic factors in understanding religions in the United States today,Changing Faithis an important book with which all sociologists of religion should be familiar" (Sociology of Religion) "Darren SherkatsChanging Faithis an interesting and valuablebook. []Changing Faithis worth reading, debating, and teaching." (American Journal of Sociology) "a work that is highly relevant and useful for further research and application. This book is highly recommended" (Catholic Library World) "Sherkat's study undermines the popular claim that while fewer Americans have a formal religious identification, they nevertheless retain many of the trappings of religious belief and personal practice." (Choice) "The great virtue of this book is that it compiles in a single place almost everything worth knowing about American religion that can be learned from the cumulative U.S. General Social Surveys (GSS), surveys that have been collected every one or two years since 1972. . . . This is a great book. The style is clear, the coverage is comprehensive, and the analysis is insightful and sophisticated." (Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion)