What Can Cell Phone Data Reveal About Religious Worship in the US?

Far fewer Americans may attend religious services as regularly as they claim, according to an analysis of phone location information by Chicago Booth’s Devin G. Pope. Traditional surveys, which often form the basis of what we know about religious observance, are prone to bias, such as people overstating their attendance, perhaps to align with social norms. In contrast, geospatial data from cell phones offer a more accurate and objective picture. Pope analyzed anonymous data from about 2 million people of various religions, tracking how often they attended services over the course of 2019 and into 2020. This method allowed him to uncover detailed patterns in service attendance and potential links between religious worship and other social behaviors.