Panel Study of American Religion & Ethnicity

Publications

Many projects using the PS-ARE are underway.

Presentations - Several papers were presented by prominent scholars based on the PS-ARE during October 2009.

Conference - Four prominent scholars presented papers based on the PS-ARE at the 2009 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) conference for the session "Findings from the Panel Study of American Religion and Ethnicity."

2009 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) conference, Denver, CO

Religion and Expressions of Generosity

Authors:

Christian Smith, University of Notre Dame (chris.smith@nd.edu)
Jonathan Hill, Calvin College (jonhill@calvin.edu)
Brandon Vaidyanathan, University of Notre Dame (rvaidyan@nd.edu)

Religion and Gambling: Exploring the Role of Tradition and Networks

Authors:

Christopher G. Ellison, University of Texas (cellison@prc.texas.edu)
Michael J. McFarland, University of Texas (mmcfarland@prc.texas.edu)

Religion and Identity Politics among Blacks and Whites

Authors:

Jen'nan Read, Duke University (jennan.read@duke.edu)
David Eagle, Duke University (david.eagle@duke.edu)

Friends for Eternity: How Religion Shapes Social Ties in the U.S.

Authors:

David Sikkink, University of Notre Dame (David.Sikkink.1@nd.edu)
Kraig Beyerlein, University of Notre Dame (kbeyerl1@nd.edu)

Why Do African Americans Pray So Often?

Authors:

Jason E. Shelton, University of Texas at Arlington (jshelton@uta.edu)
Michael O. Emerson, Rice University (moe@rice.edu)

2009 Southern Demographic Association (SDA), Galveston, TX

Residential Segregation and Black/White Disparities in Pathways to Overweight

Authors:

Jeremy R. Porter, Rice University (jporter@rice.edu)
Rachel T. Kimbro, Rice University (rtkimbro@rice.edu)
Bridget K. Gorman, Rice University (bkgorman@rice.edu)

Residential Segregation, Inter-group Contact and Black/White Differences in Self-Rated Health

Authors:

Jeremy R. Porter, Rice University (jporter@rice.edu)
Jenifer L. Bratter, Rice University (jbratter@rice.edu)
Bridget K. Gorman, Rice Univeristy (bkgorman@rice.edu)

Journal Publications

•	Emerson, Michael O., David Sikkink, and Adele James. 2010. "The Panel Study of American Religion and Ethnicity: Background, Methods, and Selected Results." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 49:162-171.

Major Research Project - PS-ARE data has been extended to an entirely new project called "The Religion, Immigrant, Civic Engagement Project (R.I.C.E.)." Elaine Howard Ecklund and Michael Emerson, both of Rice University, carried out 200 in-depth interviews with first and second-generation immigrants as well as a group of native born Americans, all persons from the PS-ARE sample (funded by the Russell Sage Foundation). The study focuses on immigrant religion and its connection to civic activities, like volunteering and political participation. Articles based on this research regarding Chinese Americans and Mexican Americans are forthcoming. To view a brief video about the study, visit http://iur.rice.edu/content.aspx?id=2316.

New Book - Michael Emerson is co-authoring a book with Jason Shelton, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas at Arlington, regarding the building blocks of African American Protestantism and the racial differences in religious sensibilities among Black and White Christians, drawing on PS-ARE findings.

A National Student Paper contest for both undergraduate and graduate students offering cash prizes for the best use of the PS-ARE data in a research paper was kicked off in August 2009. Dozens of students from across the country are submitting topics and analyzing the data.

National Scholar Involvement - Analysis of the PS-ARE is ongoing by several other scholars. For example:

•	Elizabeth Tighe of Brandeis University is using the PS-ARE's detailed information on both religious and ethnic identification to develop estimates of the size and demographic characteristics of the Jewish population in the United States by systematically combining it with data across a large number of individual data sources.
•	Jeremy Porter, CUNY-Brooklyn College, and Michael Emerson, Rice University, are examining the link between religious belonging and salience with the diversity of one's friendship network.
•	Michael Welch of the University of Notre Dame is examining how social networks and optimism can influence a person's expression of generalized trust.
•	Michael Aguilera of the University of Oregon is looking at skin tone as a predictor for household income, unemployment, home ownership, and religious involvement.
•	Frank Samson of the University of Miami is exploring how ethno-racial attitudes influence behaviors associated with civic engagement.
•	Rachel Kimbro, Bridget Gorman, and Jeremy Porter, all of Rice University, are studying the relationships between communities' racial/ethnic composition, perceived safety, and health outcomes.
•	Michael Emerson,Stuart Nelson and Adele James are writing a paper exploring the religious and spiritual turning points in people's lives, and the causes and consequences of those experiences.
•	Several graduate students are writing their dissertations using the PS-ARE data, including Erica Wong of the University of Michigan, ericarwong@gmail.com, who recently completed her dissertation entitled "Can Religion Trump Race? Interracial Friendship in Protestant Churches." [Download PDF]

In the News - Work using the PS-ARE is appearing in the popular press.

•	"Deaths of Innocents Challenge Individual, Social Beliefs" by David Briggs, Ahead of the Trend, April 10, 2010, the Association of Religion Data Archives
•	"Studies Find God is Alive and Well Among America's Youth" by David Briggs, Ahead of the Trend, January 20, 2010, the Association of Religion Data Archives
•	"Study on Race, Religion Lifts Up Unpopular Truth of Two Americas" by David Briggs, Ahead of the Trend, January 6, 2010, the Association of Religion Data Archives.
•	"Some Kids are Never Spanked - Do They Turn Out Better?" by Po Bronson (Newsweek)
	Cites research of teenage Americans by Dr. Marjorie Gunnoe using the Portraits of American Life Study (PALS), also known as PS-ARE.
•	"I am a Closet Christian" by Ada Calhoun (Salon)
	Cites the PS-ARE study in discussing how people felt about those outside their close friends and family knowing they were religious.
•	"Trends in Culture & Church: Sex, Lies, and Surveys" by D. Michael Lindsay, REV! September/October 2007. Copyright 2007 Group Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No unauthorized duplication permitted. [pdf]

Please send us PDF copies of papers/working papers/technical reports you develop using data from PS-ARE.