Authors /
David Briggs
David Briggs edits Ahead of the Trend for the Association of Religion Data Archives.
All dog owners go to heaven?
Worshipers who frequently attend religious services are the least likely to own a pet, according to a new study analyzing data on religion and pet ownership from the 2018 General Social Survey....
January 26, 2020
Study finds that self-compassion helps prevent clergy burnout
Pastor, love thyself....
November 18, 2019
New study finds aging populations might counteract secularization
Is there an inexorable trend toward secularization in the West because younger generations are less likely to affiliate with organized religion?...
September 19, 2019
Freedom of religion is at heart of struggle for democracy in Asia
The reprisal against former Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama has created urgency in Indonesia and elsewhere for protecting civil liberties.
January 10, 2018
Pay gap for women clergy is decreasing, according to new study
Yet challenges remain, with women disproportionately working in part-time and lower-paid jobs.
August 3, 2017
Studies show help and hurt that can come from how clergy talk about end-of-life care
Two new studies find that many clergy are both ill-prepared and reluctant to engage in end-of-life conversations with terminally ill congregation members and their families....
June 29, 2017
Studies reveal how faith counts in placing spiritual before material goods
New studies are revealing the ways members of different global faiths may transcend—or fall prey to—consumer cultures willing to co-opt even their most sacred festivals to move merchandise....
January 3, 2017
The rise and fall—and rise?—of Christian nationalism
Did the 2016 election portend the rise of Christian nationalism?...
December 5, 2016
New long-term study shows smaller wage gap for clergy
In the past three decades, many clergy have experienced significant increases in income even as their work weeks declined by more than 15 percent, according to a major new study of clerg...
August 19, 2016
Research points to humility as an aid in clergy conflict with their congregations
Fostering humility, intellectual humility in particular, is a way to reduce congregational conflict, according to recent studies....
July 29, 2016
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Studying faith and hope in the face of death
After the recent death of 26-year-old aid worker Kayla Mueller of Prescott, Arizona, who was held captive for months by the so-called Islamic State, her parents released a brief, handwritten letter...
March 18, 2015
Parents are top influence in teens remaining active in religion as young adults
Mothers and fathers who practice what they preach and preach what they practice are far and away the biggest influence related to adolescents keeping the faith into their twenties, according to new...
November 5, 2014
Researchers tell faith communities to let trauma survivors forgive in their own time
The women came seeking healing. Many of these survivors of the Rwandan genocide had lost family members, and some had been raped and infected with HIV....
August 14, 2014
Churches seen as failing to welcome people with disabilities
A four-year-old with impaired vision is not allowed in the toddler class in church and is forced to remain in the nursery....
August 5, 2014
Sexuality issues rarely prime cause of schism
The top legislative body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) votes to allow ministers to preside at same-sex marriages and recommends changing the church’s definition of marriage to that of a “uniq...
July 23, 2014
Black-white racial divide is worse, researchers say
Nearly 60 years after the U.S....
January 2, 2014