Are We Speaking the Same Language?
How can one national poll claim evangelicals represent 7% of the population, another national poll put them at 25% of the population, and a third assert they’re 34% of the population?
The difference – and it’s obviously a pretty large one – is in the definition. There are three primary methods of defining “evangelical” in polling and survey research, and lots of twists on those three primary methods.
Research into “evangelicals” is used all the time…
- …by journalists reporting on new studies
- …by politicians attempting to drum up support from “evangelical voters”
- …by marketers seeking to reach this market segment
- …by fundraisers looking to gain support from this population
- …by religious leaders trying to understand what different elements of the American population believe and how they behave
Unfortunately, many users of research about “evangelicals” aren’t familiar with how the population is defined and segmented by the authors behind each study. This leads to conflicting data, wrong assumptions, and misinformation.
If you use research about the “evangelical” population from organizations such as Ellison Research, Gallup, Pew, Barna, Baylor University, the Henry Institute, or other sources, you need to read this report.
In the report, Ellison Research examines:
- the various ways “evangelical” is typically defined in political exit surveys, national opinion polls, and market studies
- how just a small change in each definition can have a major impact on the results
- the advantages and drawbacks of each definition
- why studies of “evangelicals” from some of the biggest names in research are often not remotely comparable to each other
- how the “evangelical population” differs when defined in each manner
- the confusion over what an “evangelical” actually is
