Empirical Studies of Values in China (ESVIC)
A grant in the amount of $1,730,000 from the John M. Templeton Foundation was awarded to the Institute for Studies of Religion in May 2006 to conduct the first series of nationwide empirical studies on values in China.
Probably the most significant current religious development in the world is the very rapid growth of Christianity in China. In 1949, the Marxists came to power and expelled all foreign missionaries. At that time, there were an estimated 2 million Christians in China. Now, after decades of repression, a renewed Chinese Christianity has burst forth and their numbers are variously estimated at 50 to 120 million, and growing.
The Islamic Social Attitudes Survey Project (ISAS)
The Islamic Social Attitudes Survey Project (ISAS) is a comparative study on Islamic Religiosity and Social Attitudes among college students in majority-Muslim countries. The religiosity components are designed to probe issues of religious practice, belief, behavior, belonging, religious networks, spiritual experience, and family religiosity. Social Attitude modules include women’s rights, minority rights, democracy, and relations with the West.
