According to the American Religious Identification Survey, how many Americans identified themselves as Scientologists in 2008?

lones78

The ARIS didnt differentiate Scientology in the stats listed on its website (2008). It adds it in at item 11 - New Religious Movements and Other Religions: Scientology, New Age, Eckankar, Spiritualist, Unitarian-Universalist, Deist, Wiccan, Pagan, Druid, Indian Religion, Santeria, Rastafarian. This group totalled 2,804,000, or 1.2% of the population. http://www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.org/ http://www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.org/reports/ARIS_Report_2008.pdf From the religious tolerance website (http://www.religioustolerance.org/scientolnbr.htm): USA: The 2001 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York sampled American adults randomly by telephone and asked them: "What is your religion, if any?" ARIS pollsters concluded that Scientology is the seventh largest non-Christian religion in the U.S. It is exceeded in membership only by Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Unitarian Universalists, Hindus and followers of Native American Spirituality. ARIS estimated that there were 55,000 American Scientology adults in 2001, an increase from 45,000 in 1990. A linear extrapolation would suggest that there will be about 61,000 Scientologists in 2008. However, these values are undoubtedly an underestimate. They include only those individuals whose primary religious self-identification is as a Scientologist. There are many more American adults who consider themselves Christians, who have integrated Scientology beliefs and practices into their life, and who would respond "Christian" to the pollster. So too, with many Jews, Muslims and others who are simultaneously using Scientology beliefs and practices. Mar 08 10, 11:50 PM

star_gazer

Haggis is not alone. According to the American Religious Identification Survey, 45,000 Americans identified themselves as Scientologists in 1990, and 55,000 did in 2001. But in 2008, that number plummeted to 25,000. It's well short of the millions of followers Scientology leaders claim, both in the United States and abroad, where the church often is not officially recognized alongside other religions. (In comparison, in 2008 there were 342,000 self-identified Wiccans.) http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/new-abuse-allegations-cap-bad-year-for-scientology/19387752 Mar 09 10, 3:37 AM