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Greg Smith

@gregsmithpolls.bsky.social
2.1K followers 214 following 40 posts

Associate Director, Religion Research @pewresearch.org Posting about issues at the intersection of religion and public life

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Reposted by Greg Smith
John Gramlich @johngramlich.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
NEW: Views of Pope Leo remain broadly positive among Catholic Democrats and Catholic Republicans alike. But after the public dustup between Leo and Trump, the share of Catholic Republicans with a *negative* view of the pope has nearly quadrupled. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
Line chart showing that the share of Catholic Republicans in the U.S. with an unfavorable view of Pope Leo XIV increased from 6% in August 2025 to 22% in June 2026. The chart is based on Pew Research Center surveys of U.S. adults.
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
New @pewresearch.org survey finds 51% of U.S. Catholics think Donald Trump has been too critical of Pope Leo. Far fewer (19%) think Leo has been too critical of Trump administration. www.pewresearch.org?p=319068
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
New survey finds growing share of Americans are familiar with the term "Christian nationalism." 59% now say they've heard at least a little about it, up 14 points in two years. 31% view it unfavorably vs. 10% favorably; the rest have no opinion or haven't heard of it www.pewresearch.org?p=303844
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
New from @pewresearch.org: Growing share of U.S. adults say religion is gaining influence in society, and 55% have positive view of religion. But big majorities oppose church endorsements of candidates & say houses of worship should keep out of politics. www.pewresearch.org?p=303844
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The Association of Religion Data Archives (The ARDA) @religiondata.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
New month, new religion data now available on the ARDA. Browse the latest additions from @pewresearch.org, @prri.org, and more on subjects including artificial intelligence, American values, and Catholic practice. Find these data collections and more at www.thearda.com/data-archive....
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
I found this analysis from The Pillar, about trends in Catholic conversions, to be quite informative. www.pillarcatholic.com/p/americas-n...
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Pew Research Center @pewresearch.org · 01/04/2026
About 9% of U.S. births in 2023 were to unauthorized or temporary legal immigrant mothers
pewresearch.org
About 9% of U.S. births in 2023 were to unauthorized or temporary legal immigrant mothers | Pew Research Center
Generally, the trends in births to unauthorized immigrants follow the growth and decline of the unauthorized immigrant population.
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Johannah Palomo @johannahpalomo.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
While I don't doubt the dioceses are reporting accurate numbers, the data don’t actually show a huge surge of converts on a national level. According to @pewresearch.org's Religious Landscape Study, gains with Protestant converts are offset by disaffiliation of any religion.
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Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Update: Today, opt-in online pollster YouGov revealed that bogus respondents biased their 2024 religion survey. Based on this survey, Bible Society's 2025 The Quiet Revival report claimed a massive surge of churchgoing in England and Wales. The report has now been retracted.
yougov.com
Conclusions of investigation into 2024 Bible Society study
Our review into the results of the 2024 Bible Society study
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Pew Research Center @pewresearch.org · 25/03/2026
Americans Broadly Disapprove of U.S. Military Action in Iran: www.pewresearch.org/...
Chart showing about 6 in 10 disapprove of Trump’s handling of Iran conflict; as many say decision to use force was wrong.
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Hannah Hartig @hannahhartig.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
also from us: compared with beginning of his second term, fewer republicans say they agree with all or most of trumps agenda www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/0…
pewresearch.org
Confidence in Trump Dips, and Fewer Now Say They Support His Policies and Plans
Only 27% of Americans say they support all or most of Trump's policies – down since last year, with the change coming entirely among Republicans.
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Charles Franklin @pollsandvotes.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Is there a new embrace of religion among the young? News reports have found examples of flourishing young congregations. But Pew national polls find stability over last 5 years and some decline among the young. Some perspective. charlesatpollsandvotes.substack.com/p/religion-a...
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Our new study takes a close look at religion among young adults. It shows that young adults in the U.S. today 1) Are less religious than older people 2) Are less religious than young people were a decade ago 3) Have not become more religious in recent years pewrsr.ch/4pKHIC7
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
New report takes a fresh look at religion trends in the U.S. In 2025 data, key measures of religiousness continue to hold steady: pewrsr.ch/4pKHIC7
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Tia Noelle Pratt @tiaphd.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Hi! BLACK AND CATHOLIC is available from @undpress.bsky.social or your favorite retailer!
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John Gramlich @johngramlich.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
% of US men under 30 who say legal sports betting is a *bad thing* for society 22% in 2022 47% in 2025 No other demographic group has seen a bigger increase.
pewresearch.org
Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society and sports
Today, 43% of U.S. adults say the fact that sports betting is now legal in much of the country is a bad thing for society, up from 34% in 2022.
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
U.S. Catholics are still getting to know Pope Leo XIV. But they like what they've seen so far. pewrsr.ch/46j5YDo
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Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Remember, if you encounter what seems like an implausible survey finding, ask: 1. Were survey respondents selected randomly or was this an opt-in poll? 2. Could the results, especially for young adults, be driven by bogus respondents? Keep this post in mind: www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/... 🧪
In an experiment, Pew Research Center demonstrated that opt-in and probability-based surveys produced very different results about young adults' views of the Holocaust and abortion.
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Chip Rotolo @chiprotolo.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
Core measures of religiousness, by decade born From @pewresearch.org's 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study Read more: pewrsr.ch/3EXnfrS
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Stephanie Kramer @stephaniekramer.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
The U.S. immigrant population grew at a record-breaking pace throughout the past few years but has shrunk since January, marking its first decline since the 1960s. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
pewresearch.org
What the data says about immigrants in the U.S.
As of June 2025, the country’s foreign-born population had shrunk by more than a million people, marking its first decline since the 1960s.
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John Gramlich @johngramlich.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
With the IRS planning to let churches endorse political candidates, past surveys show that a majority of Americans oppose the idea. In 2022, 77% of US adults – including 84% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans – said churches shouldn't endorse candidates. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
Bar chart showing that in a 2022 Pew Research Center survey, 77% of U.S. adults said churches and other houses of worship should not come out in favor of one political candidate over another.
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Brian Schaffner @bfschaffner.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
it's been 10 years since the last @pewresearch.org Religious Landscape Study, but the release of a new study gave Caroline Soler a chance to see how the CES stacked up against this benchmark. overall, the surveys produce very similar portraits of religion in America! sites.tufts.edu/cooperativee...
sites.tufts.edu
Does the CES accurately reflect America’s religious landscape? – Cooperative Election Study Blog
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
New @pewresearch.org report takes a deep look at Catholic life in U.S. It finds 20% of U.S. adults are Catholic (religiously speaking) 9% are "cultural Catholics" 9% are former Catholics 9% are connected to Catholicism in other ways (through spouse, parent, etc.) Much more: pewrsr.ch/4eaMtk2
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Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
England is experiencing a churchgoing revival, according to a recent report based on nonprobability polls. David Voas is skeptical. He explains that probability-based survey data doesn't point to a revival. Nor does data from Christian denominations. theconversation.com/is-there-rea...
The Bible Society recently published a report claiming that church attendance in England and Wales increased by more than half between 2018 and 2024. The revival was especially striking among young men, with reported church attendance jumping from 4% to 21% over this short period.

As a quantitative social scientist who has studied religious change in modern societies for more than 25 years, I’m surprised – and sceptical. I do not doubt that the Bible Society acted in good faith, but they haven’t engaged with the mountain of evidence, some of it very recent, pointing to religious decline.

The annual British Social Attitudes survey – widely regarded as the best and most reliable source of data on such matters – shows that the share of adults in England and Wales who said that they were Christian and went to church at least monthly fell by nearly a quarter (from 12.2% to 9.3%) between 2018 and 2023, the last year available. The Bible Society surveys suggest that churchgoers were 8% of the adult population in 2018 and 12% in 2024.

The main Christian denominations (Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist) conduct and publish their own attendance counts every year. Those show that while churchgoing continues to rebound from the lows of the COVID lockdown, attendance at worship services remains substantially lower than it was in 2019, before the pandemic. In the Church of England, average weekly attendance is down about 20% from pre-pandemic levels, and the story is similar in other denominations.What could be the problem with the data?
Gold standard social surveys are based on random (probability) samples of the population: everyone has a chance to be included. The British Social Attitudes survey is one such example – and found that churchgoing fell by nearly a quarter from 2018-23.

By contrast, people opt in to YouGov’s survey panel and are rewarded after completing a certain number of surveys. The risk of low-quality or even bogus responses is considerable.

YouGov creates a quota sample from its large self-selected panel. The sample will match the population on a number of key characteristics, such as age and sex, but that does not make it representative in all respects. As quota samples do not give each person in the population a known chance of being selected, statistical inference is not possible and findings cannot be reliably generalised.

To write (as in the Bible Society report) that because thousands of people participated in the two surveys, they “give a 1% margin of error at a 99% confidence level” is misleading.

This study is not the first time such non-probability sampling has led to dubious findings. In late 2023, the Economist ran the story that one in five young Americans believed that the Holocaust was a myth, based on another YouGov poll. A study by the Pew Research Center showed that that finding was almost certainly fallacious, and the Economist added a disclaimer acknowledging the problem.
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Ruth Braunstein @ruthbraunstein.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Today at noon! @sssreligion.bsky.social is hosting a webinar on "From Francis to Leo XIV: Looking into a Post "Who Am I to Judge?" Catholic Church" feat. 2024 Student Paper Award winner Fr. Lucas Sharma S.J. w/ Tia Noelle Pratt & Tricia Bruce, moderated by Ariela Keysar.
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Becka Alper @balper.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Come work with me!
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Juliana Horowitz @jmhorowitz.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Today we released a major @pewresearch.org survey of LGBTQ adults looking at: ▶️ Views of social acceptance for LGBTQ people ▶️ Personal experiences with acceptance, discrimination ▶️ Experiences with coming out ▶️ Identity ▶️ Community, friends and LGBTQ spaces Read on for findings from each section.
pewresearch.org
The Experiences of LGBTQ Americans Today
How lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer adults view the impact of Obergefell and social acceptance for LGBTQ people more broadly 10 years after the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex...
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Interested in trends in the makeup of the US Catholic population? 20% of U.S. adults are Catholic, a figure that's been stable for years. A growing share are Latinos, and upwards of 4-in-10 Catholics are immigrants or the children of immigrants. Much more from @pewresearch.org pewrsr.ch/3VRqirS
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Pollcat, AKA Scott Keeter @pollcat.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
We took a broad look at social trust in America today. With a survey of almost 37,000 people we were able to look at levels of trust across the states and even in metro areas. Check out our new report here www.pewresearch.org/SocialTrust
pewresearch.org
Americans’ Trust in One Another
Americans trust each other less than they did a few decades ago. We explore why this is, and why some are more trusting than others.
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
New @pewresearch.org 60% of US Catholics say the Church should be more inclusive even if that means changing some teachings. 37% say Church should stick to traditional teachings even if gets smaller. Big differences on this & other questions by Mass attendance. Much more pewrsr.ch/44AA8mv
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Chip Rotolo @chiprotolo.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
NEW: White evangelicals continue to stand out in their support for Trump, including 72% who approve of the way Trump is currently handling his job as president. Here's how White evangelicals and other major U.S. religious groups view the second Trump administration. pewrsr.ch/42L6bNS
pewrsr.ch
White evangelicals continue to stand out in their support for Trump
Most White evangelicals (72%) say they approve of how Trump is doing as president. Other religious groups are more divided or disapprove.
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Faith Angle Forum @faithangleforum.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
You can watch Alan Cooperman of @pewresearch.org ‘s opening presentation at Faith Angle Miami here youtu.be/yYM75CDZ4m0?...
youtu.be
Faith Angle Forum: A New US Religious Landscape
YouTube video by The Aspen Institute
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Our recent post includes our latest info on the size of the U.S. Catholic population and data about their demographics, beliefs and practices. One interesting finding - more than four-in-ten U.S. Catholics are immigrants (29%) or the children of immigrants (14%). Much more here: pewrsr.ch/3VRqirS
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Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) @sssreligion.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
New @nyupress.bsky.social book is "the latest in a series of important sociological overviews drawing on nation-wide surveys administered every six years, Catholicism at a Crossroads charts this new era of Catholic worship, belonging, and identity in America today." nyupress.org/978147983218...
nyupress.org
Catholicism at a Crossroads
Offers a big picture analysis of American CatholicismThe Catholic Church is at a crossroads. In the United States alone there are many challenges facing the ...
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Nonreligion in a Complex Future @nonreligioncf.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Register now for our upcoming webinar where @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social (Pew Research) will discuss findings from the Pew Religious Landscape Study 2023-2024, with comments by Kati Tervo-Niemelä, Peter Beyer, and Ryan Cragun Date: Apr. 22 Time: 11 am ET Register uottawa-ca.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Nonreligion and the Pew Religious Landscape Study

In this webinar, Gregory A. Smith (Pew Research Center) will discuss findings from the Pew Religious Landscape Study 2023-2024, followed by commentary from Kati Tervo-Niemelä (University of Eastern Finland), Peter Beyer (University of Ottawa), and Ryan Cragun (University of Tampa).
 
Date: April 22, 2025
Time: 11:00 am ET
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The Association of Religion Data Archives (The ARDA) @religiondata.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
New on the ARDA: American Trends Panel Wave 99 — Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Human Enhancement This survey concentrates on public views about six developments related to AI applications and human enhancements. Dive into the dataset at thearda.com/data-archive?fid=ATPW99.
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Anna Brown @aebrown.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Last year we encountered a strange glitch in one of our surveys…the word “yes” was being replaced with the word “forks” in response options. Read on to learn how we unraveled what was causing it, how we ensured it didn’t impact the data quality, and what to do if it happens to you!
pewresearch.org
How a glitch in an online survey replaced the word ‘yes’ with ‘forks’
Dating back to at least early 2023, a bizarre and alarming technical glitch started popping up in some organizations’ online surveys and forms.
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Pollcat, AKA Scott Keeter @pollcat.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
You probably don't often turn to the survey methodology world for a good detective story, but here is one from my colleague Anna Brown pewrsr.ch/4isAu2s
pewrsr.ch
How a glitch in an online survey replaced the word ‘yes’ with ‘forks’
Dating back to at least early 2023, a bizarre and alarming technical glitch started popping up in some organizations’ online surveys and forms.
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Juliana Horowitz @jmhorowitz.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
We released a new report yesterday looking at the pressures teens face, their future aspirations, and how they see the experiences of boys and girls at their school. Among many important findings: 60% of teen girls - vs. 46% of boys - say they plan to attend a 4-year college. pewrsr.ch/4kKMHRC
pewrsr.ch
The Gender Gap in Teen Experiences
Teen girls and boys in the U.S. face different pressures and report different experiences at school, though they have many of the same goals in life.
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Samuel Perry @profsamperry.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
Are you a PhD student in Political Science or Sociology interested in religion & public life? Apply for a *fully funded* opportunity to join us this summer (June 16-21) as part of the inaugural Wheatley Seminar in Religion & Politics. Apply by March 31. Details here: wheatley.byu.edu/religionsemi...
wheatley.byu.edu
Wheatley Seminar on Religion and Politics
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Just updated with new data from the Religious Landscape Study: 10 Facts about U.S. Catholics pewrsr.ch/3F4edcw One interesting finding: about 4-in-10 U.S. Catholics are immigrants or the children of immigrants
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
In the new Religious Landscape Study, women are more religious than men, on average. But the gender gap shows signs of narrowing. It's a bit smaller now than before, and it's smaller among young adults than among older people. pewrsr.ch/4inD0X8
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Andrew Whitehead @andrew-whitehead.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
The ARDA is the world's largest online religion data archive, with a lot of really great resources that bring that data to life for those who are interested in their communities, states, our nation, and the world. Subscribing to our newsletter (2 emails a month) will keep you up to date!
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Penny Edgell @pennye.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
A slightly different take from the folks at Axios. It's a great study, lots of rich data. Check it out, in print or at Pew's website. www.axios.com/2025/02/26/u...
axios.com
America's Christian identity is fading
Less than half of Americans under 30 identify as Christian, Pew study reveals.
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Explore the new Religious Landscape Study data for yourself with our interactive website. Includes data on every state, 34 large metro areas, 55 religious groups, and lots of social and demographic categories. www.pewresearch.org/religious-la...
pewresearch.org
Religious Landscape Study | Pew Research Center
The Religious Landscape Study is a comprehensive survey of more than 35,000 Americans’ religious identities, beliefs and practices that’s been conducted in 2007, 2014 and 2023-24. Pew Research Center.
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Just released: Findings from our newest Religious Landscape Study (RLS) Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off pewrsr.ch/3EXnfrS
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Chip Rotolo @chiprotolo.bsky.social · 15/03/2024
NEW from @pewresearch.org 8 in 10 Americans Say Religion Is Losing Influence in Public Life Here are some key facts from our latest report, which looks at religion's role in public life, views of Biden and Trump, and Christian nationalism. 1/
pewrsr.ch
8 in 10 Americans Say Religion Is Losing Influence in Public Life
Most Americans say religion's influence is shrinking, and about half (48%) see conflict between their own religious beliefs and mainstream American culture.
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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 15/03/2024
Poll: Most Americans say religion’s influence is waning, and half think that’s bad
religionnews.com
Poll: Most Americans say religion’s influence is waning, and half think that’s bad
(RNS) — There is also growing concern among an array of religious Americans that their beliefs are in conflict with mainstream American culture.
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Greg Smith @gregsmithpolls.bsky.social · 24/01/2024
Has the rise of the religious "nones" come to an end? We think it's too early to tell. pewrsr.ch/4b9YWSR
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Claudia Deane @cdeane.bsky.social · 12/10/2023
For all the SURVEY RESEARCH types blueskyin' it: Pew Research Center just released our annual benchmarks for party ID and religious affiliation. Ton o' effort to get these, so we want to be sure they get used! National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS) pewrsr.ch/3ukleLR
pewrsr.ch
National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS)
NPORS is an annual survey of U.S. adults conducted by the Pew Research Center used to to produce benchmark estimates for several topics.
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