The subject of religion has experienced an unexpected renaissance and renewed media interest in the past few years. At the same time, we face difficulties in dealing with the subject insofar as the demoscopic and qualitative surveys available do not sufficiently take into account all dimensions of religiousness in modern society. With the help of religious scientists, sociologists, psychologists and theologians, the Bertelsmann Stiftung has developed an instrument which looks at issues of religion and faith to an unprecedented degree.
The Religion Monitor is an innovative data-collecting instrument which works at an interdisciplinary and inter-religious level. It surveys traditional as well as new forms of religiousness. The Religion Monitor project is made up of various building blocks: 21,000 people from all continents and world religions were representatively polled in a quantitive survey conducted in 2007. In Germany this representative survey was expanded and consolidated with a qualitative survey and interviews with experts. The results of these surveys are being published and analyzed. At the same time, the results are being fed into the online survey (www.religionsmonitor.com) as comparative data so that any interested parties can take part in the worldwide survey. The survey will be repeated at regular intervals and the project expanded in order to carry out and produce an empirical study of the development of religiousness.
The Bertelsmann Stiftung's Religion Monitor is a survey of six core dimensions of religiousness in particular: interest in religious affairs, belief in God or something divine, public and private religious practices, religious experiences as well the general relevance of religion to everyday-life. The Monitor analyzes theistic as well as pantheistics semantics as well as other specific subjects such as the area of spirituality. The question modules are identical for all nationalities and all religions. Specific items have been adjusted to accommodate inter-religious points-of-view. The results of the question modules are consolidated in a central index comprising the classifications "highly-religious", "religious" and "non-religious". These classifications help drawing important conclusions about the degree of religiousness within the compared societies, so that deductions can be made about the ramifications on social dynamics. For more details on the background and methodology please read our brief description "About the Religion Monitor" (pdf).
In keeping with the Bertelsmann Stiftung's philosophy, the Monitor is aiming to make a contribution to social sustainability with this observation of socio-cultural aspects of religiousness. One crucial precondition for mapping out religious trends and dynamics is an extensive and meaningful collection of data. The Bertelsmann Stiftung hopes that the Religion Monitor will provide a new impetus to international empirical research into religion, as well as promoting both scientific and personal discussion about "religion" as a social phenomenon and widening knowledge about the role of religion in modern society.
During this survey, the interviewee is required to submit information on their personal religiousness as well as a few sociodemographic matters. These include questions on personal religious rituals or about one's faith, family status, age or gender. All information supplied is subject to data protection and will be treated confidentially and used for research purposes only. Please also refer to our policy on data protection.
The survey is completely anonymous and you will not be required to submit any personal data about yourself. Personal details such as your e-mail address will only be stored with your express permission, for example, if you wish to receive further information about the Religion Monitor, to register for a long-term comparison or to subscribe to our newsletter. The Bertelsmann Stiftung will use your personal data for solely technical administration purposes on the website and for further communication with you further. The Bertelsmann Stiftung will not disclose any personal data to third parties or use it for any other purposes. The employees of the Bertelsmann Stiftung are required to maintain confidentiality. Please also refer to our policy on data protection.
In the first round of the survey carried out in 2007, 21,000 people in 21 countries were polled. Data was collected via telephone interviews and in some states, personal conversations, depending on the infrastructure in those countries,. The random sample takes into account socio-demographic factors such as gender division or various age groups as a percentage of the overall population. This ensures the survey remains representative. As of December 2007, additional data has been collected through the online survey at www.religionsmonitor.com. That has led to a significant rise in the number of participants and has raised the significance of the Religion Monitor for future evaluations.
Countries were selected in order to fulfil the inter-religious requirements of the RELIGION MONITOR, and incorporate all major world religions and all continents. The survey compiles data from Austria, Brazil, Germany, France, Great Britain, Guatemala, Italy, Israel, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey and the United States. Australia and Spain were polled later and are currently being evaluated. For more details on the background and methodology please read our brief description "About the Religion Monitor" (pdf).
Your individual religiousness profile, which can be generated at the end of the survey, is a reflection of how you view various aspects of your religiousness. Maybe it will shed light on some aspects of which you have previously been unaware. If you are from one of the 19 countries which has been surveyed and evaluated so far, you can look at your own profile and compare it to the data average in your country of origin. The Religion Monitor will be extended in future to refine and expand the potential for comparisons, eventually offering the opportunity to make direct international and inter-religious comparisons.