Research
This page is dedicated to research projects, surveys, polls, etc. related to the separation of Church and State. Please check this page regularly to see if any new links to current or ongoing research projects or surveys have been added as well as any updates of previous research outcomes.
Midwest Secular Survey
by Christopher R.H. Garneau, M.A.
Thank you to all those who took the time to fill out the Midwest Secular Survey, and the research report will be posted shortly!
Update July 27, 2011:
Hello again to all secular group organizers in the Midwest. I'm getting my research summary together using the data that I collected from your groups (thanks again for your help). I will be sending out a research report sometime in August, so look for that. I will be bringing a formal written report to distribute at the Midwest Humanist and Freethought Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. The conference will go from August 12th to the 14th. It might be something that members of your respected groups might be interested in, and I'll be attending the conference so you can track me down with any questions you might have. I'm including the link for the conference in case you want to inform your groups about the event. Thanks again for all your help...
Update April 26, 2011:
Hello, I'm sending this email to all of my contacts for secular groups in the Midwest. First off, thanks to all of you for your help in taking my survey. I've contacted roughly 120 groups and I'm close to 3,000 survey respondents. I'm only collecting data for one more week (Ends on May 2nd) so this is my "final push" for survey respondents. If you can find time to send out one more reminder to your list-serves that would be great. I will be sending out some preliminary results sometime in May.
Also, I have been asked to possibly present these findings at the 2011 Midwest Humanist Conference which is going to be held in Omaha, Nebraska in August. I'll keep you posted on that as well. I've been to the two previous Midwest meetings and found them to be really fun.
I will also be presenting these findings in a formal academic paper presented at the annual meeting for the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion in October which will be held in Milwaukee, WI.
Thanks so much for your help.
Posted Jan 14, 2011:
Please take a moment to read the following introductory paragraph from a doctoral candidate from The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and complete a short research survey on stigma and secularism in the Midwest:
Thank you for taking the time to read this research request. I am a graduate student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and I am conducting a research study on stigma and secular individuals (atheists, agnostics, humanists) located in the Midwest for my doctoral dissertation. I invite you to contribute to this research by taking part in my web-survey. The survey should only take about 20 minutes to complete. I want to ensure you that I do not have any means to connect your personal information or IP address to your survey so your participation will be anonymous. The data collected in this survey may be used for future research projects as well. I also ask that you forward this email to other secular (atheist/agnostic/humanist) individuals you know. This is a population that is hard to find and I need as big of a sample as I can get.
This research is important because it provides more information about a highly understudied group. It also contributes to identifying seculars as a religious minority in the U.S.
Thank you very much for your time,
Christopher R.H. Garneau, M.A.
Doctoral Candidate
Department of Sociology
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
