WLS Codebooks

Note: Codebooks contain frequency data from the private data release. For some variables, these differ from the frequencies in the public release. Variables that differ between the public and private versions include "(not available on public release)" as part of the variable description, or a note indicating the difference between the public and private versions.

Mail: Religion and Spirituality

Sibling Mail: Religion and Spirituality Module

OVERVIEW

This module replicates the Religion and Spirituality section of the 2005 mail
survey, with a few additions and some minor downsizing. Since, unlike during
the 2005 round of data collection, information on religious preferences and the
frequency with which participants attend religious services was not collected
during the in-person CAPI interview, such questions have been moved to the mail
survey. Furthermore, a question about the frequency with which participants
rely on people in their religious communities for "practical support" has been
added. Beyond these focuses, the module addresses attitudes toward religion,
spirituality, and the Bible, the importance of religion in participants' lives,
and the use of religion or spirituality to find comfort or guidance in
difficult times. 


BRIEF VARIABLE DESCRIPTIONS

    Variable ranges reference dataset/codebook order and are not necessarily 
    alphabetical.
    _____________________________________________________________________
    
    PL001RE:	           Current Religious Preference
    
    PL002REC-PL004REC:     Frequency of Attendance at Religious Services
    
    PL100RER:   	   Frequency of Reliance on Members of Religious
    			   Community for "Practical Support"

    PL003RER-PL004RER:     Importance of Religion/Spirituality

    PL006RER-PL012RER:     Salience of Religion/Spirituality in Daily Life 

    PL013RER-PL016RER:     Seeking Comfort Through Religion/Spirituality

    PL017RER-PL018RER:     Stance on the Bible

pl001re: What is your current religious preference?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig1, y_relig1a, c_y_relig1, c_y_relig1a

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 150 108 258
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 0 1 1
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 0 1
0 No Religion, None 135 87 222
1 Roman Catholic 443 525 968
6 Eastern Orthodox 0 1 1
7 Jewish 14 9 23
12 Yoga 0 1 1
13 Church Of Religious Science 0 2 2
14 Metaphysicist 0 2 2
17 Bahai 1 0 1
18 Protestant (No Denomination Given, Born Again, Born Again Christian, Christian, No Preference, Nothing Particular) 16 20 36
19 Protestant, Non-Denominational (R Must Have Used The Words 'Non-Denominational' For Religious Preference) 6 6 12
20 Community Church, No Denomination 1 0 1
21 Evangelical 9 11 20
22 Evangelical Free 6 4 10
23 Covenant 2 1 3
28 Evangelical Covenant 1 0 1
32 Christian 35 26 61
34 Moravian 3 4 7
37 First Assembly Of God 1 3 4
38 Presbyterian 26 35 61
39 Lutheran, Evangelical Lutheran, Congregational Lutheran, Reformed Lutheran, Synod Lutheran 327 395 722
40 United Church Of Christ, Congregational Evangelical And Reformed 24 53 77
41 Episcopalian, Anglican 16 18 34
42 Reformed, Dutch, Swiss, And Christian Reformed, First Reformed, Church Of America 9 8 17
43 United Methodist, Methodist, Evangelical United Brethren, Free Methodist, Primitive Methodist, Nazarene Free Methodist 92 118 210
44 Baptist, Southern Baptist, Free Will Baptist, Primitive Baptist 18 25 43
46 Disciples Of Christ 0 1 1
48 Church Of God, Church Of Christ, Church Of God And Christ 1 5 6
49 Plymouth Brethren 1 0 1
50 Brethren 1 0 1
51 Salvation Army 0 1 1
52 Seventh Day Adventist 1 1 2
59 Bible Christian 4 1 5
60 Bible Church, Bible Chapel 4 2 6
62 Calvary Bible Church 0 1 1
65 Christian Missionary Alliance 2 1 3
68 Pentecostal, Assembly Of God 2 5 7
69 Christian Scientist 2 1 3
70 Mormon, Latter Day Saints 5 0 5
71 Jehovah's Witnesses 3 11 14
72 Unity 1 5 6
73 Spiritualistic 0 1 1
74 Quaker 0 1 1
75 Unitarian 2 8 10
80 Taoist 1 0 1
83 Zen Buddhist 2 3 5
85 Pantheist 2 2 4
87 Nazarene 3 0 3
90 Congregational 1 1 2
91 Interdenominational 0 1 1
93 Agnostic 10 5 15
94 Atheist 5 1 6
96 Other religions, not established religion or changing religion with no clue of what they are changing to 2 4 6
100 Independently Faithful, Personal Religion 18 20 38
101 Christian Non-Denominational with no mention of Protestantism 6 8 14
102 Non-Denominational (No Further Specification) 6 10 16
103 Universal/All Religions OK/No Preference 1 0 1
105 New Thought (Christian-Based) 0 2 2
106 Paganism 1 1 2
Note: Code "18" was only assigned if the participant reported a Protestant religious preference without specifying a particular denomination (or if the denomination reported did not fall into any of the existing Protestant denominational categories); code "19" was assigned if the participant specified a preference for "non-denominational" Protestantism. Code "100" was only assigned if the participant reported faith or spirituality independent of organized religion (e.g. "I just believe in God" or "reading the Bible" or "personal belief system"); it does not signify the same thing as "no religion." Similarly, code "103" was assigned if the participant reported an openness to all religions.
Note: All positive values except (0 1 7 18 19 21 22 32 38-44 71 75 93 100 101 102) have been coded as 96 ("other") on the public release.

pl002rec: Raw numeric component for frequency of attendance at religious services in the past year.

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig2_a, y_rgnw2_ar, y_rgnw21_ar, inProxySAQ, y_rgnw21_a

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 175 146 321
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 1 2
0 NO SERVICES ATTENDED 280 236 516
1 195 312 507
2 - 6 232 236 468
7 - 44 201 229 430
45 - 58 205 228 433
59 - 500 134 178 312
Note: If the participant's answer included fractions or decimals, it has been rounded up to the nearest integer.
Note: The data for this variable was derived from responses to the following mail survey question: "About how often, if at all, have you attended religious services during the past year?"

pl003red: Time units corresponding to the numeric component for frequency of attendance at religious services in the past year.

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig2_b, y_rgnw2_br, y_rgnw21_br, inProxySAQ, y_rgnw21_b

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 3 4 7
-2 456 384 840
1 DAY 8 4 12
2 WEEK 173 279 452
3 MONTH 21 30 51
4 YEAR 762 866 1628
Note: See PL002REC for the numeric component of frequency of attendance at religious services in the past year. PL003RED is only applicable if the participant provided a positive and nonzero numeric value for church attendance at PL002REC. If they did not, PL003RED has been assigned a value of "-2" and coded as inappropriate.
Note: If no time unit was specified in the response, it was assumed that the frequency given was per year and PL003RED was assigned a value of "4" and coded as "times per year."
Note: The data for this variable was derived from responses to the following mail survey question: "About how often, if at all, have you attended religious services during the past year?"

pl004rec: Frequency of attendance at religious services converted to total times in the past year.

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig2_a, y_relig2_b, y_rgnw2_ar, y_rgnw2_br, y_rgnw21_ar, y_rgnw21_br, inProxySAQ, y_rgnw21_a, y_rgnw21_b

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 178 150 328
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 1 2
0 Never, Or Less Than Once A Year 280 236 516
1 1-2 Times Per Year 106 127 233
2 3-5 Times Per Year 94 71 165
3 6-9 Times Per Year 35 45 80
4 Approximately Once A Month (10-18 Times Per Year) 52 74 126
5 Approximately Twice A Month (19-29 Times Per Year) 57 64 121
6 Approximately Three Times A Month (30-44 Times Per Year) 100 106 206
7 Approximately Once A Week (45-78 Times Per Year) 428 589 1017
8 Approximately Twice A Week (79-128 Times Per Year) 50 57 107
9 Approximately Three Times A Week (129-175 Times Per Year) 14 15 29
10 4-6 Times Per Week (176-320 Times Per Year) 13 19 32
11 Approximately Once A Day Or More (321-730 Times Per Year) 15 12 27
Note: This variable was constructed from PL002REC and PL003RED. A code of "don't know," "refused," or "not ascertained" at PL002REC leads to the same code here. A code of "inappropriate" at PL003RED does not, however, always imply a missing value code for PL004REC. This is because PL003RED could have been coded as "inappropriate" due to PL002REC having a value of "0," which is a meaningful value in terms of total attendance over the course of the past year.
Note: The data for this variable was derived from responses to the following mail survey question: "About how often, if at all, have you attended religious services during the past year?"

pl100rer: How often do you turn to people in your religious community for practical support, such as financial assistance, food preparation, or transportation?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig4

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 82 72 154
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 1 2 3
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
1 NEVER 1025 1133 2158
2 RARELY 199 214 413
3 SOMETIMES 94 113 207
4 OFTEN 16 25 41

pl003rer: How important is religion in your life?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig3_1

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 72 61 133
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 0 1
1 NOT AT ALL 131 86 217
2 NOT VERY 154 133 287
3 SOMEWHAT 320 276 596
4 VERY 424 478 902
5 EXTREMELY 315 525 840

pl004rer: How important is spirituality in your life?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig3_2

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 76 68 144
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 0 1
1 NOT AT ALL 78 26 104
2 NOT VERY 118 48 166
3 SOMEWHAT 319 235 554
4 VERY 448 517 965
5 EXTREMELY 377 665 1042

pl006rer: How closely do you identify with being a member of a religious group?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig3_3

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 76 72 148
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 0 1 1
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 0 1
1 NOT AT ALL 245 240 485
2 NOT VERY 242 182 424
3 SOMEWHAT 266 259 525
4 VERY 322 413 735
5 EXTREMELY 265 392 657

pl007rer: How important is it for you to be with other people who are the same religion as you?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig3_4

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 71 62 133
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 1 2 3
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 0 1
1 NOT AT ALL 505 529 1034
2 NOT VERY 341 316 657
3 SOMEWHAT 278 358 636
4 VERY 144 173 317
5 EXTREMELY 76 119 195

pl008rer: How important do you think it is for people of your religion to marry other people who are the same religion?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig3_5

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 75 68 143
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 2 1 3
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 0 1
1 NOT AT ALL 527 584 1111
2 NOT VERY 295 269 564
3 SOMEWHAT 297 361 658
4 VERY 162 195 357
5 EXTREMELY 58 81 139

pl009rer: How strongly do you believe that one should stick to a particular faith?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig3_6

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 75 69 144
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 1 1 2
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 2 3
1 NOT AT ALL 447 570 1017
2 NOT VERY 259 266 525
3 SOMEWHAT 298 332 630
4 VERY 228 203 431
5 EXTREMELY 108 116 224

pl010rer: How important was religion in your home when you were growing up?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig3_7

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 72 66 138
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 1 0 1
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 0 1
1 NOT AT ALL 59 51 110
2 NOT VERY 120 115 235
3 SOMEWHAT 347 369 716
4 VERY 520 505 1025
5 EXTREMELY 297 453 750

pl011rer: When you have important decisions to make in your life, how much do you rely on your religious or spiritual beliefs?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig3_8

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 72 64 136
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 1 0 1
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 0 1
1 NOT AT ALL 200 101 301
2 NOT VERY 185 142 327
3 SOMEWHAT 404 369 773
4 VERY 353 439 792
5 EXTREMELY 201 444 645

pl012rer: How much would your spiritual or religious beliefs influence your medical decisions if you were to become gravely ill?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig3_9

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 73 62 135
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 1 1 2
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 0 1
1 NOT AT ALL 276 196 472
2 NOT VERY 175 135 310
3 SOMEWHAT 310 321 631
4 VERY 335 435 770
5 EXTREMELY 246 409 655

pl013rer: When you have problems or difficulties in your family, work, or personal life, how often do you seek comfort through praying?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig5_1

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 74 60 134
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 0 1
1 NEVER 228 80 308
2 RARELY 195 108 303
3 SOMETIMES 396 345 741
4 OFTEN 523 967 1490

pl014rer: When you have problems or difficulties in your family, work, or personal life, how often do you seek comfort through meditating?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig5_2

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 78 74 152
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 1 2 3
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 0 1
1 NEVER 444 357 801
2 RARELY 286 320 606
3 SOMETIMES 402 502 904
4 OFTEN 205 305 510

pl015rer: When you have problems or difficulties in your family, work, or personal life, how often do you seek comfort through attending a religious or spiritual service?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig5_3

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 76 69 145
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 0 2 2
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 0 1
1 NEVER 436 352 788
2 RARELY 261 251 512
3 SOMETIMES 365 420 785
4 OFTEN 278 466 744

pl016rer: When you have problems or difficulties in your family, work, or personal life, how often do you seek comfort through talking to a religious or spiritual advisor?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig5_4

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 75 68 143
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 0 2 2
-1 DON'T KNOW 1 0 1
1 NEVER 633 628 1261
2 RARELY 413 443 856
3 SOMETIMES 225 330 555
4 OFTEN 70 89 159

pl017rer: To what extent do you agree that the Bible is God's word and everything happened or will happen exactly as it says?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig6_1

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 76 68 144
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 0 1 1
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
1 STRONGLY AGREE 245 316 561
2 AGREE 282 287 569
3 NEITHER AGREE NOR DISAGREE 418 462 880
4 DISAGREE 171 168 339
5 STRONGLY DISAGREE 225 257 482

pl018rer: To what extent to you agree that the Bible is the answer to all important human problems?

Data source: Sibling Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_relig6_2

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 3014 2774 5788
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 73 70 143
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 6 7 13
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 0 2 2
-3 REFUSED 0 1 1
1 STRONGLY AGREE 220 264 484
2 AGREE 290 310 600
3 NEITHER AGREE NOR DISAGREE 457 564 1021
4 DISAGREE 180 155 335
5 STRONGLY DISAGREE 197 194 391

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