Publications

The U.S. Congregational Life Survey continues to be a valuable resource for researchers. If you know of a book or study not featured here, or your work using the US CLS was recently published, please contact us with a copy or citation of the work.

Books

Leadership That Fits Your Church: What Kind of Pastor for What Kind of Congregation, 2012, Cynthia Woolever and Deborah Bruce, St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press.

A Field Guide to U.S. Congregations, Second Edition, 2010, Cynthia Woolever and Deborah Bruce, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Places of Promise: Finding Strength in Your Congregation’s Location, 2008, Cynthia Woolever and Deborah Bruce, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Beyond the Ordinary: Ten Strengths of U.S. Congregations, 2004, Cynthia Woolever and Deborah Bruce, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

A Field Guide to U.S. Congregations, 2002, Cynthia Woolever and Deborah Bruce, Louisville, KY: Westminster Jon Knox Press.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Structural and Cultural Sources of Community in American Congregations, 2014 Samuel, Stroope and Joseph O. Baker, Social Science Research (45), 1-17.

Satisfaction of Spiritual Needs and Self-Rated Health among Churchgoers, 2014, Neal Krause, R. David Hayward, Deborah Bruce, and Cynthia Woolever, Archive for the Psychology of Religion, (36), 1-20.

Sources of Social Support: Examining Congregational Involvement, Private Devotional Activities, and Congregational Context, 2013, Jennifer McClure, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, (52:4), 698-712.

Race, Belonging, and Participation in Religious Congregations, 2013, Brandon Martinez and Kevin Dougherty, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, (52:4), 713-732.

Church Involvement, Spiritual Growth, Meaning in Life, and Health, 2013, Neal Krause, R. David Hayward, Deborah Bruce, and Cynthia Woolever, Archive for the Psychology of Religion, (35), 169-191.

Understanding a Cultural Identity: The Confluence of Education, Politics, and Religion within the American Concept of Biblical Literalism, 2013, Aaron Franzen and Jenna Griebel, Sociology of Religion, (74:4), 521-543.

How Religious Communities Affect Political Participation Among Latinos, 2012, Paul Djupe and Jacob Neiheisel, Social Science Quarterly (93), 333-355.

The Intergenerational Transmission of Churchgoing in England and Australia, 2012, David Voas and Ingrid Storm, Review of Religious Research, (53:4), 377-395.

Social Class and Finding a Congregation: How Attendees are Introduced to Their Congregations, 2012, Philip Schwadel, Review of Religious Research, (54:4), 543-554.Race, Class, Congregational Embeddedness, and Civic and Political Participation, 2012, Philip Schwadel, in L.A. Keister, J. Mccarthy, R. Finke (ed.) Religion, Work and Inequality (Research in the Sociology of Work, (23), 253-279.How Culture Shapes Community: Bible Belief, Theological Unity, and a Sense of Belonging in Religious Congregations, 2011, Samuel Stroope, The Sociological Quarterly, (52:4), 568–592.

Assessing the Validity of Key Informant Reports about Congregations’ Social Composition, 2011, Steven M. Frenk, Shawna L. Anderson, Mark Chaves, and Nancy Martin, Sociology of Religion, (72:1), 78-90.

A Place to Belong: Small Group Involvement in Religious Congregations, 2011, Kevin D. Dougherty and Andrew L. Whitehead, Sociology of Religion, (72:1), 91-111.

Education and Religion: Individual, Congregational, and Cross-Level Interaction Effects on Biblical Literalism, 2011, Samuel Stroope, Social Science Research, (40:6): 1478-1493.

Assessing Key Informant Methodology in Congregational Research, 2010, Philip Schwadel and Kevin D. Dougherty, Review of Religious Research, (51:4), 366-379.

Acceptance of Other Religions in the United States: An HLM Analysis of Variability across Congregations, 2010, Buster G. Smith, Social Compass, (57:1), 127-142.

Race, Diversity, and Membership Duration in Religious Congregations, 2010, Christopher P. Scheitle1, Kevin D. Dougherty, Sociological Inquiry, (80:3), 405-423.

Testing the Strictness Thesis and Competing Theories of Congregational Growth, 2010, Jeremy N. Thomas and Daniel V.A. Olson, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, (49:4), 619-639.

Financial Commitment Within Federations of Small Groups: The Effect of Cell-Based Congregational Structure on Individual Giving, 2010, Andrew L. Whitehead, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, (49:4), 640-656.

Neighbors in the Pews: Social Status Diversity in Religious Congregations, 2009, Philip Schwadel, Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, (5:2).

It Takes Two: The Interplay of Individual and Group Theology on Social Embeddedness, 2009, Christopher P. Scheitle and Amy Adamczyk, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, (48:1), 16-29.

Market Share and Religious Competition: Do Small Market Share Congregations and Their Leaders Try Harder? 2009, Jonathan P. Hill and Daniel V.A. Olson, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, (48:4), 629-649.

Social Power and Attitude Strength Over the Life Course, 2009, Asia A. Eaton, Penny S. Visser, Jon A. Krosnick and Sowmya Anand, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, (35:12), 1646-1660.

Congregational Analysis Revisited: Empirical Approaches, 2009, Malan Nel, University of Pretoria, South Africa, HTS Teologlese/Theological Studies, (65:1), 1-13.

The Relationship between Labor Market Structure and Clergy Compensation in Protestant Denominations, 2008, Becky Roselius Haney, Atlantic Economic Journal, (36:1), 65-75.

The Sociology of Religious Organizations, 2008, Christopher P. Scheitle and Kevin D. Dougherty, Sociology Compass, (2:3), 981-999.

Why Do Small Religious Groups Have More Committed Members? 2008, Daniel V.A. Olson, Review of Religious Research, (49:2), 353-378.

Maximizing Congregational Resources: Selection versus Production, 2008, Christopher P. Scheitle and Roger Finke, Social Science Research, (37:3), 815-827.

Class and Congregations: Class and Religious Affiliation at the Congregational Level of Analysis, 2007, Sam Reimer, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, (46:4), 583-594.

An International Survey of Congregations and Worshipers: Methodology and Basic Comparisons, 2006, Deborah Bruce, Sam Sterland, Norman Brookes, and Phillip Escott, Journal of Beliefs and Values, (27:1), 3-12.

What Do We Think about Our Future and Does it Matter: Congregational Identity and Vitality, 2006, Cynthia Woolever, Deborah Bruce, Keith Wulff, and Ida Smith-Williams, Journal of Beliefs and Values, (27:1), 53-64.

Fast-Growing Churches: What Distinguishes Them from Others, 2006, Deborah Bruce, Cynthia Woolever, Keith Wulff, and Ida Smith-Williams, Journal of Beliefs and Values, (27:1), 111-126.

The Gender Ratio in the Pews: Consequences for Congregational Vitality, 2006, Cynthia Woolever, Deborah Bruce, Keith Wulff, and Ida Smith-Williams, Journal of Beliefs and Values, (27:1), 25-38.Recent Research on Catholic Parishes: A Research Note, 2006, James D. Davidson, Suzanne C. Fournier, Review of Religious Research, (48:1), 72-81.

Research Note: Beyond the Ordinary and Adventist Congregations, 2006, Roger L. Dudley, Review of Religious Research, (48:1), 50-55.

How Many Americans Attend Worship Each Week? An Alternative Approach to Measurement, 2005, C. Kirk Hadaway and Penny Long Marler, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, (44:3), 307-322.

Friendship Ties in Church and Depressive Symptoms: Exploring Variations by Age, 2005, Neal Krause and Keith Wulff, Review of Religious Research, (64:4), 325-340.

Religious Doubt and Health: Exploring the Potential Dark Side of Religion, 2004, Neal Krause and Keith Wulff, Sociology of Religion, (65:1), 35-56.

Church-Based Social Ties, A Sense of Belonging in a Congregation and Physical Health, 2004, Neal Krause and Keith Wulff, International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, (15:1), 73-93.

U.S. Congregational Life Survey, 2004, Review of Religious Research, (46:2), 206-207.