Explaining Why More Americans Have No Religious Preference: Political Backlash and Generational Succession, 1987-2012
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Level 4 by design analogy for observational cross-sectional trend analysis.
OpenAlex W2066916480 · doi:10.15195/v1.a24
What was done
The authors analyzed long-term trends in religious identification among American adults between 1987 and 2012, examining political backlash and generational succession.
What was found
In 2012, 20 percent of American adults reported having no religious preference, compared to 7 percent twenty-five years earlier (1987). No additional quantitative findings or statistical estimates are reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
It documents a substantial nearly threefold rise in religious disaffiliation in the United States over a 25-year period.
Limits
The abstract text is extremely truncated and omits sample size, survey methodology, analytical models, and specific quantitative results testing the explanatory mechanisms. Observational trend data cannot establish definitive causality.
Cited by
- contradicts Data show that attendance at church and other religious gatherings has been on an upswing in recent years.