Ryan Burge (political scientist)

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Ryan P. Burge is an American political scientist, statistician, and, for 17 years until Summer 2024, an American Baptist pastor. [1] [2] An associate professor at Eastern Illinois University, he is best known for his work on religion in the United States. [3] [4] 60 Minutes has termed him one of the "leading data analysts on religion and politics" within the United States. [5]

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Burge has argued that non-religious voters represent a growing force in American politics. [6] His research finds that the majority of "nones" have religion-like beliefs and believe in some conception of a higher power, despite not affiliating with a religion. [7] Burge has argued that the term "evangelical" is becoming associated with politics, particularly that of conservatism, rather than its traditional association with adherence to evangelical theology. [3] [8]

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References

  1. Challis, Mallory (January 4, 2023). "Interpreting the recent dramatic decrease in American teen pregnancy rates". Baptist News Global. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  2. Burge, Ryan (2024-07-25). "How do you close a church? Ryan Burge learned firsthand". Deseret News . Archived from the original on 2024-07-26. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  3. 1 2 Burge, Ryan (October 26, 2021). "Why 'Evangelical' Is Becoming Another Word for 'Republican'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  4. Smith, Peter (December 3, 2022). "Nonreligious voters wield increasing clout in Democratic base". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  5. Staff (October 14, 2022). "Dr. Ryan Burge to lead new center on faith & society". Religion News Service. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  6. Burge, Ryan (April 16, 2021). "It's Not Just Young White Liberals Who Are Leaving Religion". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  7. Burge, Ryan (February 24, 2021). "Most 'Nones' Still Keep the Faith". Research. Christianity Today. What I discovered was that while many people have walked away from a religious affiliation, they haven't left all aspects of religion and spirituality behind. So, while growing numbers of Americans may not readily identify as Christian any longer, they still show up to a worship service a few times a year or maintain their belief in God. The reality is that many of the nones are really "somes."...The center of the Venn diagram indicates that just 15.3 percent of the population that are nones on one dimension are nones on all dimensions. That amounts to just about 6 percent of the general public who don't belong to a religious tradition and don't attend church and hold to an atheist or agnostic worldview.
  8. Walker, Andrew; Burge, Ryan (June 1, 2022). "Is 'Evangelical' a Historical, Theological, or Political Identity?". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved January 10, 2023.