\u201cSurvey Research and the Study of Religion in East Asia,\u201d a conference hosted by Pew Research Center, took place Oct. 11 and 12, 2017, at Pew Research Center headquarters in Washington, D.C. More than 60 social scientists, religion scholars and survey researchers from East Asia, Europe and North America participated in the event, which was part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project. Participants from East Asia received travel support from the Global Religion Research Initiative.<\/p>\n\n
Conference attendees debated whether religion in East Asia is unique, shared what is known about current trends and considered which survey measures could best capture identity and practice. The conference also focused on the challenges and opportunities for future research \u2013 particularly in China, where surveys about religion can be politically sensitive.<\/p>\n\n
11:00 \u2013 12:30\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Presentation session #1: Lived religion in East Asia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Convenor: Patrick Moynihan, Pew Research Center\nTimekeeper: Stephanie Kramer, Pew Research Center<\/p>\n\n Can a survey capture lived religion in East Asia?\n<\/em>Nancy Ammerman, Boston University<\/p>\n\n Social contact variables and religious activity: Blessed Happiness Survey 2016<\/a>\n<\/em>Becky Hsu, Georgetown University<\/p>\n\n Beyond \u201cHoly-Days\u201d: The religious practices of Catholics in everyday life in Shanghai\n<\/em>Liang Zhang, Institute of Religious Studies, SASS<\/p>\n\n Belief crossing category: Reexamining belief and categorization in contemporary Korean religion<\/a>\n<\/em>Michael Ralston, Independent scholar<\/p>\n\n 1:45 \u2013 3:15\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Presentation session #2: Key datasets<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Convenor: Katie Simmons, Pew Research Center\nTimekeeper: Jonathan Evans, Pew Research Center<\/p>\n\n The International Social Survey Program 2018 study of religion in East Asia and around the world\n<\/em>Tom W. Smith, NORC at the University of Chicago<\/p>\n\n Multi-perspective measurement of religion in current China<\/a>\n<\/em>Weidong Wang, National Survey Research Center, Renmin University of China<\/p>\n\n Measuring religion in Japan: ISM, NHK and JGSS<\/a>\n<\/em>Noriko Iwai, JGSS Research Center, Osaka University of Commerce<\/p>\n\n Measuring religion in South Korea: the KGSS<\/a>\n<\/em>Jibum Kim, Sungkyunkwan University<\/p>\n\n Considering religion questions in the East Asian Social Surveys using the Korean General Social Survey as example<\/a>\n<\/em>Jerry Z. Park, Baylor University\nKenneth R. Vaughan, Baylor University<\/p>\n\n 3:30 \u2013 5:00\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Panel #1: What makes religion in East Asia unique and what should survey researchers keep in mind when trying to measure it? A panel of religion scholars<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Moderator: Alan Cooperman, Pew Research Center\nPanelists: Helen Hardacre, Harvard University; Natasha Heller, University of Virginia; Anna Sun, Kenyon College<\/p>\n\n 9:00 -10:30\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Presentation session #3: Innovations and experiments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Convenor: Cary Funk, Pew Research Center\nTimekeeper: Joey Marshall, Pew Research Center<\/p>\n\n What a mixed-method study suggests about measuring religion in China<\/a>\n<\/em>Prof. Peter Nyn\u00e4s, \u00c5bo Akademi University<\/p>\n\n A survey experiment measuring multiple religious identities in Asia\n<\/em>Neha Sahgal, Pew Research Center\nSteve Schwarzer, Pew Research Center\nCourtney Nelson, Pew Research Center<\/p>\n\n How can we construct measures of religiosity in Japan equivalent to Western ones?\n<\/em>Koki Shimizu, Hokkaido University<\/p>\n\n Contextual effects and sensitive topics in the survey Interview: Effects of the interview setting when collecting data on religion and religiosity\n<\/em>Zeina Mneimneh, Survey Research Center, University of Michigan\nJulie de Jong, Survey Research Center, University of Michigan<\/p>\n\n Cross-cultural dimensions of religious belief among eight countries<\/a>\n<\/em>Akira Kawabata, Osaka University\nMitsuharu Watanabe, Kanto Gakuin University<\/p>\n\n 10:45 -12:15\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Presentation session #4: Case studies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Convenor: Richard Wike, Pew Research Center\nTimekeeper: Laura Silver, Pew Research Center<\/p>\n\n What\u2019s happening to religion in South Korea: Age, period, and cohorts patterns of religious change in the past three decades<\/a>\n<\/em>Chaeyoon Lim, University of Wisconsin-Madison<\/p>\n\n Measuring the sense of divine control in South Korean context<\/a>\n<\/em>Jong Hyun Jung, Institute for the Study of Human Flourishing<\/p>\n\n Religion and wellbeing: Viewpoints and perspectives of recent research in Japan<\/a>\n<\/em>Yoskihide Sakurai, Hokkaido University<\/p>\n\n There\u2019s no place like Japan: A case-study in the methodological challenges of cross-national survey analysis<\/a>\n<\/em>Joshua Hayes, University of California, Davis<\/p>\n\n How to count religious phenomena in China and East Asia<\/a>\n<\/em>Liyong Dai, Central China Normal University and Confucius Institute at Carleton University, Canada<\/p>\n\n 1:45 \u2013 3:15\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Presentation session #5: The secular, the highly religious and those in between<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Convenor: Greg Smith, Pew Research Center\nTimekeeper: Aleksandra Sandstrom, Pew Research Center<\/p>\n\n Identifying the highly religious in China\n<\/em>Megan Rogers, University of Notre Dame<\/p>\n\n Measuring religious \u201cnones\u201d in China: A comparison of major national surveys in China on question wording and survey estimates<\/a>\n<\/em>Philip Brenner, University of Massachusetts Boston\nLirui He, Jinan University\nChan Zhang, Fudan University<\/p>\n\n What new measures for Korean religiosity might reveal about religious nones\n<\/em>Young Bin Lim, Korean Association for Sociology of Religion<\/p>\n\nThursday, October 12<\/h2>\n\n