Portraits of American Life Study | Results & Summaries

Portraits of American Life Study

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The PALS seeks to understand the impact of religion in everyday life, and ultimately the connections between religious change and other forms of change among diverse individuals and families over the course of their lives.

Results & Summaries

Religion - Importance

PAWT2

How important is religion or religious faith to you personally? (RM_1)

	TOTAL	%
-7) Refused	1	0
-4) Don't know	7	.3
1) Not at all important	278	10.7
2) Somewhat important	700	26.8
3) Very important	766	29.4
4) Extremely important	455	17.4
5) By far the most important part of your life	401	15.4
Missing	2
TOTAL	2608	100.0

[ Analyze results ]

How important is God or spirituality in your life? (RM_2)

	TOTAL	%
-7) Refused	1	0
-4) Don't know	3	.1
1) Not at all important	140	5.4
2) Somewhat important	542	20.8
3) Very important	822	31.5
4) Extremely important	537	20.6
5) By far the most important part of your life	561	21.5
Missing	2
TOTAL	2606	100.0

[ Analyze results ]

Thinking about your spouse/partner, how important would you say religion or religious faith is to him or her personally? (RM_3)

	TOTAL	%
-7) Refused	6	.4
-4) Don't know	14	.8
1) Not at all important	155	9.3
2) Somewhat important	472	28.2
3) Very important	481	28.8
4) Extremely important	308	18.4
5) By far the most important part of his/her life	236	14.1
Missing	937
TOTAL	1672	100.0

[ Analyze results ]

[IF RM_1=2-5 ASK RM_4. ELSE SKIP TO RA_Intro.] How much influence have your religious beliefs, teachings, or congregation had on the following big decisions you have made in your life? Your choice of a career or job (RM_4)

	TOTAL	%
-7) Refused	3	.1
-4) Don't know	6	.3
1) None	1172	50
2) A little	431	18.4
3) Quite a bit	236	10.1
4) A lot	253	10.8
5) Most important influence	178	7.6
6) Not applicable	63	2.7
Missing	268
TOTAL	2342	100.0

[ Analyze results ]

How much influence have your religious beliefs, teachings, or congregation had on the following big decisions you have made in your life? Your decision about whether or whom to marry (RM_5)

	TOTAL	%
-4) Don't know	1	0
1) None	985	42.1
2) A little	410	17.5
3) Quite a bit	314	13.4
4) A lot	314	13.4
5) Most important influence	211	9
6) Not applicable	106	4.5
Missing	268
TOTAL	2341	100.0

[ Analyze results ]

How much influence have your religious beliefs, teachings, or congregation had on the following big decisions you have made in your life? Your decision about where to live (RM_6)

	TOTAL	%
-4) Don't know	6	.3
1) None	1560	66.6
2) A little	320	13.7
3) Quite a bit	159	6.8
4) A lot	189	8.1
5) Most important influence	69	2.9
6) Not applicable	39	1.7
Missing	268
TOTAL	2342	100.0

[ Analyze results ]

How much influence have your religious beliefs, teachings, or congregation had on the following big decisions you have made in your life? Your decision about how many children to have (RM_7)

	TOTAL	%
-4) Don't know	5	.3
1) None	1250	71.7
2) A little	185	10.6
3) Quite a bit	87	5
4) A lot	96	5.5
5) Most important influence	76	4.4
6) Not applicable	44	2.5
Missing	867
TOTAL	1743	100.0

[ Analyze results ]

Instructions

View each question on our survey and how our respondents answered to the left.

To perform an auto-analysis of how an item relates to key demographics such as gender, education, church attendance and more, click on the "Analyze results" link below a variable.

Modules

Click on a link to jump to a topic module. Move the mouse over links to see short descriptions.

Household Roster
Current Living Arrangement
Race/Ethnicity
Race Ethnicity (ACASI)
Housing Choice
Work/Job
Sensation-Seeking
Social Activities
Congregational Identity
Congregational Affiliation
Religious Identification
Centrality and Salience of Religious Identity
Networks and Network Density
Intergroup Contact
Political Participation
Volunteering and Informal Helping
Moral/Political Attitudes
Moral and Political Attitudes (ACASI)
Religion - Importance
Religious Guidance/Religious Authority
Religious Guidance and Religious Authority (ACASI)
Relationship Behaviors (ACASI)
Relationship Quality (ACASI)
Deviance (ACASI)
Religious Beliefs (ACASI)
Religious Attendance (ACASI)
Spiritual Experiences
Health
Demographics
Generated Variables
Appended and Other Variables

Give us your feedback!

Through out these sections, we invite you to enter the discussion about these findings and what their implications may be. Click on the COMMENT link to send your thoughts to pals@rice.edu. Where appropriate we will include comments for others to read and discuss. Names of contributors will not be posted, but, if you like, include your religious tradition.

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US Congregational Membership Reports

Explore congregational membership across the United States. These data are provided by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.