Making Sense of Polls About Religion

Reports about religion in America often seem to tell different stories. Gallup, for example, within the past year or so, has reported studies headlined Americans' Religious Engagement Holds at Lower Levels, More Americans See Religion Increasing Its Influence in U.S. and Drop in U.S. Religiosity Among Largest in World. A research report I coauthored with Lydia Saad earlier this year, Rise in Young Men's Religiosity Realigns Gender Gaps, prompted questions from journalists and others about how its findings compared with other reports that appeared to show different results.