Two HIRR Members Join U.S. Religion Census Steering Committee

Dr. Charissa Mikoski, Assistant Professor of Research, and Dr. Allison Norton, Director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, are participating in the steering committee for the U.S. Religion Census (USRC). The USRC is the most comprehensive effort to document religious life in every U.S. county. 

The project combines information from national religious headquarters with special studies of groups that lack such overarching organizations. Its findings provide a comprehensive dataset and maps documenting the nation’s religious landscape.

The committee is preparing for the next data collection, scheduled for 2030. This year’s agenda includes reviewing previous census methods, identifying opportunities for improvement, and developing a grant request for this project’s funders, the Lilly Endowment and the Templeton Foundation. The resulting data and analysis are expected to be released in 2031 or 2032. 

Mikoski and Norton will help gather counts of nondenominational churches nationwide,  continuing the key role of former HIRR Director Dr. Scott Thumma, who served on the steering committee for the last few decades. They have also reached out to scholars in their professional networks to encourage submissions for special studies focused on specific religious communities, including Asian and Black congregations and mosques.

In addition to their shared responsibilities, the HIRR members contribute to different areas of the committee’s work. Norton serves on the communications subcommittee, while Mikoski serves on the mapping and technology subcommittees.

“Having used USRC data in my Ph.D. studies, it is very exciting to get the opportunity to help gather this data going forward,” Mikoski said. “The information gathered in this project is essential to documenting the U.S. religious landscape and how it changes over time.”

The USRC provides researchers, religious organizations, and the public with a resource for understanding the distribution of religious communities and how that landscape evolves. 

To learn more about the USRC and explore its maps and findings, visit the project’s website.