Endtime Family (Children of God), 1997

The Endtime Family, or Children of God, data set is an examination of a religious group that is in high tension with its surrounding environment. This data set assesses the validity of applying survey data techniques to high tension religious groups. Additionally, most of the variables are replications of variables from the General Social Survey (GSS) and some variables are replications from the International Social Survey Program, enabling comparisons between the Endtime Family and the general population.

Data File

Cases: 1,025
Variables: 244
Weight Variable: None

Data Collection

Date Collected: September-December of 1997.

Collection Procedures

The questionnaire was distributed to all English-speaking members of the Endtime Family through the private networks that deliver their mail. Presumably, all members who were not traveling at the time the questionnaire was administered received a questionnaire. A response rate cannot be calculated since no exact count of the Endtime Family population exists.

Self-administered surveys were sent to all non-traveling members of the Endtime Family by the Family's central mail agency. Along with the questionnaire, the group's leadership sent a letter urging all members to respond.

Sampling Procedures

The surveys were sent to the homes of English-speaking members over fifteen years of age through the central organization that delivers the Endtime Family newsletter to their homes. Cover letters from the Endtime Family leaders that urged members to respond were included with the survey. All English-speaking members of the Endtime Family who were not traveling at the time the survey was administered were eligible to receive the survey. Completed surveys were mailed directly to the research project.

Principal Investigators

William Bainbridge

Related Publications

Bainbridge, William Sims. 2001. The Endtime Family: Children of God State