Inventing American Religion: Polls, Surveys, and the Tenuous Quest for a Nation’s Faith

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By Robert Wuthnow

Published Jan. 27, 2016

Americans love polls, but are they accurate? In Inventing American Religion: Polls, Surveys, and the Tenuous Quest for a Nation’s Faith, sociology professor Robert Wuthnow traces the history of polls, examines their powerful rise, and asks how polls and surveys affect how we regard religion today.

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PAW's July/August 2025 issue cover, featuring a photo of people dressed in orange and black, marching in the P-rade, and the headline: Reunions, Back in Orange & Black.
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On the cover: Wilton Virgo ’00 and his classmates celebrate during the P-rade.