Association of Religion Data Archives

The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. One of the primary goals of the archive is to democratize access to academic information on religion by making this information as widely accessible as possible. Over 900 surveys, membership reports, and other data collections are currently available for online preview, and most can be downloaded free of charge. Other features include national profiles, GIS maps, church membership overviews, denominational heritage trees, historical timelines, tables, charts, and other summary reports.

Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion. In February 2006, the American Religion Data Archive became the Association of Religion Data Archives when an international data archive was added. The archive now includes both American and international collections as well as features for educators, journalists, religious congregations, and researchers.

Data included in the ARDA are submitted by the foremost religion scholars and research centers in the world. Currently housed in the Social Science Research Institute at Pennsylvania State University, the ARDA is funded by Lilly Endowment, the John Templeton Foundation, Chapman University, and Pennsylvania State University.

Roger Finke, then professor of sociology at Purdue University, founded the American Religion Data Archive in 1996 on a grant from Lilly Endowment. Data file collection and processing began in 1997. The online archive launched in the fall of 1998 under the domain name www.thearda.com, and originally contained thirty-three surveys regarding American religion. Within ten years, the archive had expanded to include more than 400 data files. As of 2016^[update], more than 900 data files were available for download on the ARDA website.

Starting in 2005, the ARDA began to host surveys dealing with religion outside the United States. In 2006, the archive therefore changed its name from the American Religion Data Archive to the Association of Religion Data Archives to more properly reflect the scope of information available. The new name preserved both the acronym and the domain name from the American Religion Data Archive.

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