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Measuring Evangelicals: Practical Considerations forSocial Scientists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2018

Ryan P. Burge  and
Andrew R. Lewis
Ryan P. Burge
Affiliation:
Eastern Illinois University
Andrew R. Lewis*
Affiliation:
University of Cincinnati
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to:Andrew R. Lewis, Department of PoliticalScience, University ofCincinnati, USA. E-mail: Andrew.Lewis@uc.edu
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Abstract

Evangelicals garner much attention in polling and public opinionresearch, yet measuring white evangelicals remains elusive, evenopaque. This paper provides practical guidance to researchers whowant to measure or analyze evangelicals. In the social sciences,many have adopted a detailed religious affiliation approach thatcategorizes evangelicals based on the religious tradition of thedenominations to which they belong. Others have used a simplerself-identification scheme, which asks respondents if they considerthemselves “born-again or evangelical”. While the affiliation andself-identification schemes are predominant, a practical examinationof these approaches has been absent. Using several waves of theGeneral Social Survey and the Cooperative Congressional ElectionStudy, we compare them. We find almost no statistical differencesbetween the two measurements in prominent demographic, political, orreligious factors. Thus, we suggest that for most a simple questionabout broad religious affiliation followed by a born-again orevangelical self-identification question will suffice.

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Type
Article
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 11 , Issue 4 , December 2018 , pp. 745 - 759
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2018 

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