Non-affiliation,Non-denominationalism,Religious Switching,and Denominational Switching: Longitudinal Analysis of the Effects on Religiosity

Abstract

Using data taken from the General Social Survey panel data for 2006-2010, this paper examines the incidence and consequences of non-affiliation with religions and denominations and switching of religions and denominations. While previous studies have tended to conflate these phenomena, this paper documents that all four of these phenomena are becoming increasingly common in the contemporary United States, and that they differ substantially in their association with religiosity. Longitudinal analysis indicates that the effects of conversion from one religion to another are immediate and pervasive, leading to increases in scores on all measures of religiosity. Switching of denominations among Protestants, on the other hand, appear to have modest effects on respondents’ behavior, but no significant effects on religious beliefs. Respondents with no religious affiliation at all score lower than other respondents on all measures of religiosity, and become less religious over time. Protestants with no denominational preference, in contrast, are similar to other Protestants in their religious beliefs and participation.