Center for Social Research

Note from CSR Director, James Penning

The 2008 presidential election was all about the economy, right?

Not so fast.

In a recently published book, The Disappearing God Gap? Religion and the 2008 Presidential Election (Oxford University Press, 2010), five scholarly colleagues and I challenge this assumption.

The key finding of the book is that religion mattered greatly in that election. While voting patterns among various religious groups did not differ markedly from patterns found in other recent presidential elections, religious groups were certainly forces to be reckoned with in 2008. Once again, conservative, evangelical Protestants proved to be a key, perhaps the key, component of the G.O.P. voting bloc. The predicted shift of evangelicals from Republican to Democrat support was modest at best. On the other hand, Barack Obama and the Democrats fared exceedingly well among the nation’s large and growing groups of Hispanic Protestants and Catholics.

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Kent County Congregations Canvassing Completed

The Center for Social Research is pleased to announce that, as of November 5, 2009, we have completed our comprehensive church canvassing project! The student research assistants estimate that they covered over 124 tracts, and collected data documenting congregational movements and new congregations in Kent County. In total, 24 new congregations were discovered.

Even though there is a feeling of finality to this phase of the project, in reality it has only just begun. We now have a great deal of data to add to the previously collected data from the Kent County Congregational Survey of 2006 that was compiled into the impressive report, Gatherings of Hope. These data will also be used to make a comprehensive and up-to-date directory of Kent County congregations.

By visiting each congregation in Kent County, student researchers were able to take pictures of every building and record any changes to leadership, contact information, membership, and other relevant information.

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Preliminary Analysis for Clergy and Public Affairs Survey 2009

Final analysis has begun for 2009 Clergy and Public Affairs Survey concerning political beliefs and clergy practices from ten denominations. This year's survey continues a series of post-presidential election surveys conducted since 1980 for the Southern Baptist Convention and since 1988 for other denominations. Answers to frequently asked questions about the survey and a list of denominations can be found here.

CSR student Research Assistants were an integral part of the data collection process, stuffing thousands of envelopes inviting clergy to participate in either online or printable versions of the survey. Research Assistants also entered over 1,500 paper surveys to add to the more than 1,200 online surveys submitted.

Comparative demographic information from 2001 and 2009 post-election surveys (excluding PCUSA data for early analysis) shows that gender, ethnicity, and community size reported by participants have not changed significantly since 2001, but age of respondents has increased. Nearly 61 percent of respondents in 2001 fell into the category of 34 to 54 years of age. In 2009, only 48 percent fell into this category, and the category of 55 and older experienced a growth of 12 percent, making nearly 46 percent of respondents fall into this category.

In the following table, we see that the clergy seem to be leaning toward a theologically orthodox viewpoint. In 2009, clergy reported consistently higher percentages of agreement on the following measures of theological conservatism. However, clergy agreeing with the statement concerning Christ’s physical second coming have decreased by 1 percent. Perhaps the most interesting change is the increase from 2001 to 2009 in both Evangelical and Mainline clergy in total agreement with the statement “Adam and Eve were real people” by 8.2% and 12.6% respectively. Evangelical denominations consist of the Assemblies of God, Southern Baptists, the Christian Reformed Church, the Lutheran Missouri Synod, and the Mennonites. Mainline denominations consist of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Methodist Church, the Disciples of Christ, and the Reformed Church of America.

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“Community-Based Reforms of the Justice System”

CSR is pleased to sponsor a presentation by David LaGrand, Calvin graduate and current Grand Rapids City Commissioner.  Long interested in social justice issues, Commissioner LaGrand’s resume includes a law degree, working in the prosecutor’s office, and volunteering in the prison ministry program. A founder of the Restorative Justice Initiative (RJI) and advocate of the Restorative Justice approach to misdemeanors, including a “Fast Track Accountability Program” (FTAP), Commissioner LaGrand will discuss his part in reforming our local justice system.

Join us for information and a conversation about restorative justice in Grand Rapids:

Meeter Center Lecture Hall Thursday, November 19, 3:30 p.m.

Reminder of our New Location

Occasionally we find someone who does not know about our new location. Last year we moved across Burton St. into the Raybook Building. Please feel free to drop in for a visit and a cup of coffee.

Find your way with this map:
Sorry, this neat feature doesn’t work in Internet Explorer, but is too cool to drop for all that. Try Firefox!!

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