Browse 114 concepts used in the study of religion, review how survey researchers measured them in the past, and quickly compare the results of more than 7,600 survey questions.
The archive is a collection of surveys, polls, and other data submitted by the foremost scholars and research centers in the world. Review and analyze data online, or download free of charge.
Examine the religious composition, religious freedoms, demographics, constitutional clauses, survey findings and multiple social and political measures for 250 nations.
View maps of the United States and individual states for hundreds of variables, including congregational membership, census data, crime statistics and many others.
Generate congregational membership reports for any county, state and urban area in the United States using data collected by the Religious Congregations & Membership Study.
The profiles chart schisms and mergers, document membership trends, offer basic descriptions, and link to additional resources for more than 400 past and present American religious groups.
Browse dozens of topics from a major national survey of religious congregations. See how the responses vary by the size, religious family and region of the congregation.
Browse dozens of topics covered by major national surveys. See how the responses vary by demographic categories and, when available, how they change over time.
View maps of the United States and individual states for hundreds of variables, including congregational membership, census data, crime statistics and many others.
Krohn, G. A. (2021, October 5). Presbyterian Congregations, 1973-1988.
Summary
"Benevolences as a percentage of receipts have declined in many Protestant denominations over the past three decades. To explain the decline, this study develops an economic model of religious congregations and estimates a version of it with data on a national sample of 40 Presbyterian congregations from 1973 to 1988." (Krohn, Gregory A., 1995, p.17).
"The number of members, receipts, and expenditures of various types for the sample congregations and the national aggregates were obtained from statistics published in various issues of Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its predecessor bodies.
The national average of Presbyterian clergy salaries came from various issues of the PCUSA publication, Monday Morning.
The fixed weight price index for personal consumption expenditures and the consumer price index for fuel and utilities were obtained from the Citibank economic data base, August 1989.
The fixed-weight price index for personal consumption expenditures on medical insurance was taken from various issues of Survey of Current Business.
County per capita personal income came from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, on diskette.
The unemployment and poverty rates were obtained from the Economic Report of the President 1990.
The average marginal federal income tax rates are from Barro and Sahasakul (1983), updated in Throop (1991)." (Krohn, Gregory, 1995, p. 34).
Government transfer payments to individuals were obtained from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, on diskette.
Sampling Procedures
The population was all churches in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A). A random sample of 100 congregations, from the 1988 Minutes of the General Assembly, resulted in 40 congregations with complete data for the study.
Principal Investigators
Gregory A. Krohn
Related Publications
Krohn, Gregory A. 1995. "The Receipts and Benevolences of Presbyterian Congregations, 1973-1988," Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 34 (1): 17-34.
Notes
This is an historical trends data set. The data have been set up using year as the unit of analysis (case). Each year has 10 variables (or measures) for 40 congregations, resulting in a total of 400 variables for each year. For more details on the construction of the data file see Krohn, 1995.
Note: In the original data, most variables were recorded in raw dollars. These variables have been reformatted for this file, having been divided by 1,000. They include: