Religious Congregations &
Membership Study 2010

The 2010 U.S. Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study (RCMS) is a county-by-county enumeration of religious bodies in the US. A quick overview is available here. It is an update of the 1952, 1971, 1980, 1990, and 2000 studies originally done by the National Council of Churches and the Glenmary Research Center. Since 1990, the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB) has sponsored the studies.

Each participating religious body supplies the number of churches, full members, adherents, and attendees for each county. See "Data Collected" for more information. Our data collection office can assist any group with compiling their data to the county level.

The study coincides with the US census. National polls rarely give any religious data below the national level. This study gives a picture of county-level religious affiliation nationwide. The longevity of the study helps to identify trends and track religious change.

Online reports from the 2010 U.S. Religion Census can be obtained for various geographies free of charge from The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA). ARDA also archives the previous datasets and makes them available for download.

The book includes data tables, documentation, 32 pages of color maps and charts, and a wall map of religious families by county. It can be ordered at 1-800-877-0700 or on-line. The full-color wall maps are available from Glenmary Research Center.