Read the full story: Graphs about Religion
One of the most common critiques I hear about survey research on religion is that it flattens something that is deeply personal and profoundly complex. Questions about belief certainly fall into this trap. The General Social Survey has questions about a respondent’s view of God and the Bible that only allow a handful of response options. A common response is, “I don’t really fit cleanly into any of those boxes.” And honestly? That criticism is right on target. Asking someone “do you believe in God?” and forcing them into just a couple of potential boxes misses an enormous amount of nuance. But that’s the nature of survey research — we trade depth for breadth.