We now take a break from our series on Vision-Guided Experimentation to explore some cutting edge research on the boundary between politics, values, mental health, and technology with a review of the results of the latest survey by the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR), American Values, Mental Health, and Use of Technology in the Age of Trump.
Given the angry division over anything Trump, it may be worthwhile to start with some bona fides.
Baylor University (BU) is a private, theologically conservative, Evangelical (Baptist) university in Waco, Texas. ISR is a well-respected research organization, dedicated to observing rigorous standards of scientific objectivity while treating the study of religion with “the respect that sacred matters require and deserve.” Its mandate extends to all religions, everywhere, and throughout history, and embraces the study of religious effects on such things as prosocial behavior, family life, population health, economic development, and social conflict. This is ISR’s fifth “wave” of research findings on religion and society since 2005.
Conducted and authored by Paul Froese and several others, Baylor Religion Survey (Wave 5) is really four surveys rolled into one, with focuses on: (1) the spectrum of religious, political, and ideological views that inform how people vote, including (for obvious reasons) where Trump voters fit into that spectrum, (2) faith and mental health, (3) technology and religion, and (4) geography.
