Conrad Hackett

How Republicans and Democrats view federal agencies Majorities in both parties have a favorable opinion of three agencies: the National Park Service, the National Weather Service and the US Postal Service. www.pewresearch.org/fact-sheet/h...

If you’re a lucky social scientist who was subscribed to this substack without consent let me know?

American adults with a four-year college degree Hindus 70% Episcopalians 67% Jews 65% Agnostics 53% Atheists 48% Muslims 44% Buddhists 41% Catholics 35% National average 35% Evangelicals 29%

Huh? www.theguardian.com/science/ng-i...

Harvard's population program is recruiting postdocs popcenter.harvard.edu/postdoctoral... Seems like a great opportunity!

A rising share of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) no longer identify with the faith. Meanwhile, the church has become more racially diverse. New report: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/09/22/tradition-and-change-among-latter-day-saints-in-the-us/

Here's a "top scientists & science 🧪communicators" starter pack from @mkeyoung.bsky.social & @lassehjorthmadsen.bsky.social.

Looking forward to speaking at SPSP Religion & Spirituality Preconference, alongside Conrad Hackett, Patty Van Cappellen, and Kristen Laurin, on Feb 11 in Philadelphia! Submissions are open until October 8: spsp.wufoo.com/forms/2027-p...

I look forward to giving the keynote address at the 2027 SPSP Religion & Spirituality Preconference on February 11 in Philadelphia. Submissions open. Propose a research talk, data blitz, or poster by October 8. spsp.wufoo.com/forms/2027-p... Graduate-student registration fees will be waived.

Linda Woodhead writes of Christianity in Britain: "Today, revival is virtually impossible." https://theconversation.com/there-may-not-be-a-christian-revival-but-britains-traditional-churches-arent-doomed-279291

Here's an interesting workshop opportunity in Mexico City (Jan 2027) focusing on formal models of religious and moral phenomena. For early career researchers. Travel funding available. sparrc.substack.com/p/request-fo...

PLEASE SHARE: The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion has immediate opportunity for new Executive Officer. This part-time, remote position pays $55k. Details in attachment. Apply here https://bit.ly/SSSR-2026-EO.

PLEASE SHARE: The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion has immediate opportunity for new Executive Officer. This part-time, remote position pays $55k. Details in attachment. Apply here https://bit.ly/SSSR-2026-EO.

NEW: The number of countries with high or very high social hostilities involving religion increased for the third year in a row https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/06/15/more-countries-had-elevated-levels-of-social-hostilities-involving-religion-in-2023/

NEW QUIZ: Where do you fit in the American political typology? Please share your results!

Is a religious revival happening? Watch this video for answers from me, Kati Tervo-Niemelä (University of Eastern Finland), Joel Thiessen (Ambrose University), Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme (University of Waterloo) & David Voas (University College London). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glgPhZ01-O0

Here's a great (free) training opportunity in survey research for undergrads & recent college grads this summer surveydatascience.isr.umich.edu/education/un...

Are enough births occurring to replace expected deaths? We introduce the “births observed / births needed” ratio as a simple indicator of demographic sustainability — showing why similar fertility rates can imply very different population futures. www.demographic-research.org/articles/vol...

When researchers asked LLMs whether they should switch between religions, LLMs tended to encourage becoming Catholic & shedding atheist & Jehovah's Witness identities. https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.22975

How Measurement Changes Can Exaggerate the Growth of Religious "Nones" no paywall: sociologicalscience.com/download/vol...

Every summer I repost this article on how to spot drowning. Please read it and pass on. In the last few years I’ve had SIX messages from people who saved a kid’s life after clicking on the link from my feed. slate.com/technology/2...

Congratulations to the data wizards at @ourworldindata.org who created this elegant tool so you can adjust fertility, mortality & migration rates for any country to see the impact on population sizes & age structures. This is really, really great!! Check it out!! Excellent tool, terrific write up.

Congratulations to the data wizards at @ourworldindata.org who created this elegant tool so you can adjust fertility, mortality & migration rates for any country to see the impact on population sizes & age structures. This is really, really great!! Check it out!! Excellent tool, terrific write up.

Average Sunday service attendance in the Church of England 2019 - 690,000 2025 - 590,000

"citation count & journal impact factor reveals quantitative studies on secularization tend to be published in higher ranked journals & get more citations. Topics related to philosophy, Catholicism & law get fewer citations. The topic of science & religion is often found in lower ranked journals."

Out now in @jssreligion.bsky.social: Using Swedish full-population data, I show that exposure to religious pluralism through social ties is associated with a lower likelihood that parents baptize their child in the Church of Sweden 👇 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Register now for our upcoming webinar, co-hosted with the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society, "Wishful Thinking? Is There a Religious Revival?," happening on Zoom on May 27 from 12:30pm-2pm ET. Register here: uottawa-ca.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Reminds me a bit of Jonas Jonasson’s books like The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. I loved all his books. I wonder what else is in this genre of audiobook.

Just finished the quirky, delightful Jonathon Fairfax audiobooks. If there was a fifth book, it would be my next listen. www.audible.com/pd/152887160...

Newly published analysis of 2025 British Social Attitudes data provides no support for claims of a Quiet Revival of churchgoing in Britain. natcen.ac.uk/news/no-revi...

"Opt-in polls have been shown to generate erroneous data for young adults and estimates of relatively rare behaviors."

Call for proposals: $10,000 seed grants for research about religion in the U.S. https://www.ssrc.org/programs/religion-and-the-public-sphere/innovation-in-religion-and-spirituality-seed-grants/ Great opportunity!

The call for papers for the International Society for the Sociology of Religion (ISSR) conference in Buenos Aires (February 15-20, 2027) is open until June 10. I'm looking for submissions about religion & demography. https://conference-system.sisr-issr.org/conferences/conference-2027/#papers

I am honored to become (in August) the president-elect of the Association for the Sociology of Religion. sociologyofreligion.org

David Voas notes YouGov & Bible Society never published the full dataset from the (now retracted) Quiet Revival report. They declined invites for debate. https://www.iflscience.com/they-basically-refused-any-kind-of-public-debate-on-this-why-the-quiet-christian-revival-narrative-fell-apart-83293

I joined host Adam Fleming and fellow panelist Pat Allerton (better known as the ‘Portable Priest’) on BBC Radio 4’s 'Anti-Social' today to tackle a perennial but increasingly contentious question: Is Britain still a Christian country? www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

The USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture invites journalists to propose story ideas that capture the changing nature of American religion. The journalism fellowship will fund journalists to tell deeply reported stories in written or multimedia formats. dornsife.usc.edu/crcc/journal...

Great initiative, sounds a little like @peercomjournal.bsky.social another excellent project which I highly recommend & encourage everyone to support!

NEW: More people have left Catholicism than joined it in 21 of the 24 countries we analyzed. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/04/23/catholicism-has-lost-people-to-religious-switching-in-many-countries-while-protestantism-has-gained-in-some/

NEW: More people have left Catholicism than joined it in 21 of the 24 countries we analyzed. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/04/23/catholicism-has-lost-people-to-religious-switching-in-many-countries-while-protestantism-has-gained-in-some/

Which AI tool can flag ahead of time all the email typos this human doesn't notice until 30 seconds after I hit send?

Unfortunately, a great number of bogus respondents can sneak into opt-in online surveys, polluting the results. Among Orthodox Christians in a recent opt-in survey, about half seemed to be bogus respondents. https://orthodoxstudies.substack.com/p/what-the-quiet-revival-collapse-can

Here is what Americans consider immoral www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...

Say Trump is somewhat or very religious Republicans 50% White evangelicals 49% Catholics 29% Black Protestants 13% Atheists 12% Democrats 10% https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/04/16/americans-have-become-more-likely-to-say-trump-is-not-too-or-not-at-all-religious/

Say Trump is somewhat or very religious Republicans 50% White evangelicals 49% Catholics 29% Black Protestants 13% Atheists 12% Democrats 10% https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/04/16/americans-have-become-more-likely-to-say-trump-is-not-too-or-not-at-all-religious/