A feeling of estrangement from society as a whole, or from its dominant institutions, but not necessarily estrangement from all local religious groups.

The state of being without effective rules for living.

A breakdown at the level of the entire society, which Emile Durkheim measured in terms of economic instability.

Strain between the norms and values of a society (Robert K. Merton), as experienced by the individual, which could be measured by items about frustration in achieving conventional life goals.

Unreasoning hostility toward and discrimination against Jews.

The tendency to follow a strong leader or rigid social conventions.

A more-or-less coherent system of statements about the world, that often achieve some degree of consensus in a formal religious organization or diffuse religious subculture.

A quality of personal charm in a leader, actually or figuratively described as a divine presence.

A religious movement that emphasizes spiritual gifts and the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit.

A conventional religious organization, such as a mainstream denomination.

A church can be recognized by the fact that respondents who are members exhibit distributions of religious beliefs and practices that are comparable to those of the population as a whole.

A public religious dimension that is expressed in a set of beliefs, symbols, and rituals (Bellah, 1967:100).

"Conversion refers to shifts across religious traditions" (Stark and Finke 2000:114). This would include changing from Judaism to Christianity or Hinduism to Islam. Religious reaffiliation, changing from one style of a specific religion to another, is commonly confused with conversion. An example of reaffiliation would be changing from Southern Baptist to Methodist within Christianity or from Sunni to Shiite within Islam.

Studies focusing on the growth of cults did the most to shed light on the nature of conversion and the way individuals change their religious beliefs. The popular belief before the studies of Loland and Stark (1965) and Barker (1984) was that individuals joining religious cults were brainwashed by leaders. These studies disproved this conception of conversion showing that initiates into new religious groups converted due to changes in their social networks. Those who converted did so because they came to a point where they knew more people in the cult or religious group than individuals not a part of the group. It was only until after conversion took place that the actual beliefs of the group were cited as reasons for the conversion.

Some common ways of measuring the concept of conversion is to ask individuals if they have ever experienced what they would describe as a conversion experience. Another avenue for exploring conversion is to compare a respondent's parent's religious affiliation with the respondent's current religious affiliation or stated religious identity. This method assumes that as a child the respondent shared her parent's religious views. A third possible measure of conversion is religious intermarriage. Over time researchers might find that a spouse converts, not just reaffiliates, to their spouse's religion.

The view that God directly created humans and other living creatures, in direct opposition to the theory of evolution by natural selection from random variation.

This is often measured by a single item about the theory of evolution, coupled with the religiousness of the respondent, but ideally would be measured by a battery of items containing subscales measuring different components of the concept.

A deviant religious organization with novel or exotic religious beliefs and practices.

Members will have religious beliefs and practices that do not belong to the dominant religious tradition.

One can often distinguish a cult from an immigrant ethnic religion by looking at variables such as parents' birthplace.

The organizational form that dominant religious traditions assume in a pluralistic culture (Christiano et al., 2002:101). Denominationalism refers to the subdivision of a particular religion. A common example is Protestant Christianity in the United States. While each denomination ascribes to what are considered foundational tenets of the Christian faith, they maintain separate identities due to differences in what are considered peripheral issues. However, some denominations might consider that others have actually left the "true" Christian faith.

A central method for measuring denominationalism is RELTRAD. Steensland et al. proposed this typology in 2000 and it is currently the most widely accepted way of accounting for differences in religious tradition. Included within the typology are Evangelical, Mainline, and Black Protestants. These could be used to approximate differences believed to be due to denominationalism.

The frequency at which an individual performs religious rituals and comparable behaviors, notably prayer and Bible reading, often measured independently of group activities such as church attendance.

Using religious participation and affiliation to achieve practical goals such as social status.

Marked by holding to the authority of Scripture, the veracity of biblical miracles, salvation through Christ alone and encourage a separation from "the world" (Woodberry and Smith, 1998:28). Fundamentalism is widely regarded as a reaction to the modernist and liberal strain of Protestantism that arose at the turn of the 20th century. Fundamentalism tends to favor a premillenialist dispensationalism believing that the world will grow worse and worse, despite any human intervention, until Jesus Christ's return to earth. Thus, fundamentalists believe in maintaining a strict separation from the world and do not encourage a social gospel, usually attributed to more liberal Protestant groups.

Common ways of measuring fundamentalism is by using RELTRAD and accounting for a person's religious tradition. Fundamentalists are most likely found in the Evangelical Protestant or Black Protestant traditions. Fundamentalists are also very likely to ascribe a literal and perfect view of the Bible. Due to the premillenialist views of fundamentalists researchers could use a belief in certain "End Times" prophecies to designate those in this strain of Christianity. A belief in Jesus and Jesus being the only way to salvation are also markers that can be used to measure fundamentalism.

"Life satisfaction is a cognitive assessment of an underlying state thought to be relatively consistent and influenced by social factors" (Ellison et al. 1989).

General views of the world that people may hold that are their ways of interpreting the events of life.

Wuthnow carried out survey research indicating Americans chiefly possessed four meaning systems, including a religious one he labeled theism (Wuthnow 1976).

"The psychologically healthy person is one who maintains close contact with reality" (Taylor and Brown 1988:193).

"The perception of reality is called mentally healthy when what the individual sees corresponds to what is actually there" (Jahoda 1958:6).

A diffuse subculture mixing spiritualist, occult, and Asian beliefs and practices.

A 20-item scale with 3 factors can be found in Bainbridge 2004.

Adhering to the traditional religious faith of the particular society or coherent subgroup.

A Christian orthodoxy index can be found in Stark and Glock 1968.

Belief that only one's own faith is true or that salvation can be achieved only by adherence to one's own religion.

Based on Max Weber's classic argument, this concept brings together supposed characteristics of Protestanism such as worldly asceticism, dedication to work, and the notion that economic success is evidence of grace.

A situation in which one person lacks what others have, especially if this leads to frustration and a sense of injustice.

This is a classic explanation for the church-sect dimensions, suggesting that sects compensate people psychologically for relative deprivation.

See The Sociology of Religious Movements by William Sims Bainbridge (1997:85, 111).

Level of religious commitment. This is usually measured through self-report of various measures. Asking individuals how they view the Bible, whether it is authoritative and perfect, or full of myths, allows researchers to approximate how religious one views herself. The frequency of attendance at church also provides a measure of the level of a person's religious commitment. Researchers also take how much money a person gives to their place of worship as a measure of religiosity.

Type and amount of religious actions an individual exhibits. Closely tied to the concept of religiosity, religious behavior focuses upon what individuals are doing in relation to religion specifically. The most commonly used measure of religious behavior is church or worship service attendance. Research shows that the act of attending alone exerts a powerful influence on individuals. Another religious behavior that can be operationalized is contributions toward religious activities or entities. Self-reported religious experience can also be used as a measure of religious behavior. This measure is less well-known and as such utilized less in research.

On its most basic level religious belief refers to views toward the supernatural. Usually paired in research with measures of religious tradition and religious behavior, measuring religious belief allows researchers to gain insight into what respondents are thinking concerning the supernatural. One of the most common religious belief measures is whether or not respondents believe in God. A new strain of research is focusing not just on if individuals believe in God, but specifically what they believe God to be like. The images of God variables are used to create various scales that have proven to be highly predictive of attitudes and behavior. Probably the most common religious belief measure used in religious research is biblical literalism. This variable grouped with religious tradition and religious behavior is a common set of religious controls for any statistical model. Beyond these religious beliefs lie a less-used list of other beliefs. Belief in Hell, Jesus, salvation, Satan, angels, demons, heaven, or the "end times" provide a rich palate of possible research opportunities dealing with religious belief.

"A distinctive feature of religious organizations is that they promise attainment of rewards, such as eternal life in Heaven, that cannot be delivered in the here and now (Iannaconne and Bainbridge 2009:466). 'When humans cannot quickly and easily obtain strongly desired rewards they persist in their efforts and may often accept explanations that provide only compensators. These are intangible substitutes for the desired reward, having the character of I.O.U.s, the value of which must be taken on faith'” (Stark and Bainbridge 1987:36).

One of the economic roles individuals play when engaged in religious behavior. Individuals act rationally, weighing the costs and benefits of potential actions, and choosing those actions that maximize their net benefits. Religiously active individuals seek rewards through social interaction in a world of uncertainty and deprivation. (Iannaccone and Bainbridge 2009:461-462)

Familiarity with a religion's doctrines, rituals, traditions, and members. Iannaccone, 1990:299

The degree of mastery of and attachment to a particular religious culture.

Stark and Finke, 2000:120

Some common means of measuring religious human capital is to find out if individuals have been a part of a particular religion for long. This can be operationalized through respondents' self-reported religiosity at age 12, their parent's religious tradition, or their attendance levels at age 12. Presumably, those in the same religious tradition (found by comparing parent's and respondents religious tradition), highly religious, or attending at high levels at age 12 enjoy a greater amount of religious human capital compared to those who do not. Another possible operationalization of religious human capital is religious intermarriage. Stark and Finke (2000) and Iannaccone (1990) suggest that those with less religious human capital are more likely to religiously intermarry compared to those with more religious human capital. Church attendance and church contributions also provide a look into a person's possible level of religious human capital.

Religious self-identifications (Smith, 1998:233). One ongoing discussion within the sociology of religion is how to categorize individuals religiously. In the past researchers have created categories that they fit individuals into by their religious tradition or certain religious beliefs. For example, to categorize individuals as Evangelical Protestants researchers could use their religious denomination (e.g., Southern Baptist) or by certain beliefs commonly attributed to Evangelicals (e.g., individuals must be "born-again" to receive salvation). Religious identity is now used as another way to categorize individuals and it relies entirely on respondent's placing themselves within a certain category. A strength of this specific categorization technique is that it ensures the individual sees herself in this category and is not just placed there by a researcher according to a predefined typology.

One of the economic roles individuals play when engaged in religious behavior. "Consumers who give their church time and money in hopes of earning entry into Heaven are essentially investing it in. When they die, and 'and go to their reward,' then they believe they can cash in on this investment"(Iannaccone and Bainbridge 2009:461, 467).

The three main economic roles that people play in religion - consumers, producers, and investors - fit together to create markets. Social outcomes (markets) constitute the equilibria that emerge from the aggregation and interaction of individual actions. (Iannaccone and Bainbridge 2009:468)

"Individual's evaluations of competing religious goods" (Sherkat, 1997:69). Religious preferences as a concept is used to explain why individuals participate in different religions and styles of religion. It seeks to answer why specific religious choices are made. Generally, religious preferences are adaptive, grow stronger with consumption, and can respond to new information (Sherkat, 1997:66). Individuals learn their preferences through socialization and past experiences; immersion in religious communities bring individuals to have particular religious understandings which give religion value (Sherkat, 1997:70).

Some possible operationalizations of religious preferences include how individuals view the Bible, God, or the path to salvation. Each of these are theological issues and serve as markers to what types of religious goods individuals prefer. Religious experience could also approximate the preferences individuals might have for religious goods. Some might desire an experiential faith while others do not.

Religion conceptualized as a way of responding to life's problems, in contrast, for example, to political or psychotherapeutic responses.

Without using the term, Richard F. Larson (1968) shows how to measure a religious problem-solving perspective.

One of the economic roles individuals play when engaged in religious behavior. Religious producers behavior follows the same principles as that of consumers. They act rationally, weighing the costs and benefits of potential actions, and choosing those actions that maximize their net benefits. Their maximizing now relates to the supply-side of the religious economy. "Whether pastors, priests, rabbis, or imams - religious producers will tend to adjust behavior so as to maximize the return to their efforts" (Iannaccone and Bainbridge 2009:461, 464)

"The restrictions placed on the practice, profession, or selection of religion." (Grim and Finke, 2007:636)

The state of a person unsatisfied with currently available religious affiliation and carrying out exchanges in search of more satisfying affiliation.

Also known as reaffliation, this concept refers to shifts within religious traditions (Stark and Finke 2000:114). The concept of religious switching is commonly conflated with the concept of religious conversion. Reaffiliation refers to changes within a specific tradition, like changing denominations within Evangelical Protestantism. Conversion refers to changes across religious traditions, such as changing from Hinduism to Islam.

Religious switching can be operationalized by taking into account a respondent's parents' religious affiliation and comparing it with the religion claimed by the respondent herself. This assumes individuals share the religious (or non-religious) affiliations of parents. Using longitudinal data a researcher could also compare the religious affiliation of a respondent over time while married to someone who affiliates with a different denomination. Using religious identity or RELTRAD to locate respondents within a tradition is a common practice.

Staged episodes of increased religious emotion and group celebration, sometimes confused with conversion.

Strict and frequent performance of the public rites of religious observance, even in the absence of fervent belief.

This would be measured by combining high scores on religious behavior with relatively low scores on belief.

A deviant religious organization with conventional beliefs and practices.

A sect can be recognized by the fact that the beliefs and practices of members are within the same tradition as the majority of respondents, but more intense, pure, and consistent.

The relationship between a sectarian movement and the wider culture, marked by difference, antagonism, and separation.

Items measuring the three dimensions can be found in Bainbridge and Stark (1980).

The decline of religious faith and of the influence of the churches.

This concept refers to changes over time in the aggregate, not to data collected at one point in time or describing one individual person.

A common measure is the fraction of respondents to the General Social Survey over time who report having no religion.

A breakdown of society marked by high rates of migration and by sparce or fragmented networks of social relations.

Positive or negative feelings an individual holds about members of another group, such as members of a different religion, expressed in terms of the common distance metaphor of feeling close to someone.

A battery of social distance items can be found in Glock and Stark (1966).

The situation when a high fraction of friendships or other social relations of members of a religious group are with fellow members rather than outsiders.

The Glock and Stark Northern California study included a question about how many of the respondent's five best friends belonged to his or her congregation.

Also referred to as interpersonal bonds. These connections between individuals are vitally important for maintenance of group.

An orientation toward transcendent or supernatural realities outside any strict doctrinal framework.

A person who does not report a religious affiliation or does not belong to a religious organization, sometimes limited to people who do express religious beliefs.