Appendix B - Glossary

Glossary

Generation

Millennials: born between 1984 and 2002 n Gen X: born between 1965 and 1983Boomers: born between 1946 and 1964Elders: born between 1945 or earlier

Ethnicity

Based on a multiple response question n White / CaucasianBlack / African AmericanHispanic / LatinoAsianOther / more than one race and not defined in any of the above

Region

Northeast are residents of CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV, and Washington, DCMidwest are residents of IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, and WISouth are residents of AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, and TXWest are residents of AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA,and WY

Political Ideology

Conservatives: identify as “mostly conservative” when it comes to political issuesLiberals: identify as “mostly liberal” when it comes to political issuesModerate: identify as somewhere in between conservative and liberal

Faith Identity

Respondents were asked to specify personal faith or affiliation.Catholic: self-identify as CatholicProtestant: self-identify as ProtestantChristian: self-identify as ChristianNon-Christian: do not self-identify as ChristianOther faith: self-identify as faith other than ChristianityNo faith: self-identify as atheist, agnostic or no faithNot sure: were not able to choose any of the above categories.

• Practicing Christians are self-identified Christians who say their faith is very important in their lives and have attended a worship service within the past month
• Non-practicing Christians are self-identified Christians who do not qualify as practicing.
• Evangelical Christians meet nine criteria, which include having made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and believing that, when they die, they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. The seven other conditions include saying their faith is very important in their lives; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. Being classified as an evangelical is not dependent on church attendance or denominational affiliation, and respondents are not asked to describe themselves as “evangelical.”