Updated May 15, 2012
Constituency Size
Comparing the constituencies of religious advocacy groups is difficult because they are defined
and measured in many different ways.
The groups in the study use a variety of metrics to describe their reach. Some groups list the
number of “activists” they represent, such as the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
(13,000) and the Save Darfur Coalition (1 million). The Quixote Center, a social justice group
with roots in Catholicism, mentions on its website the “friends, associates and donors” that
are among its constituents. Concerned Women for America states on its website that it has a
membership of “half a million women and like-minded men,” though it is not clear whether all
are financial contributors.
Constituency size is most easily measured for groups that represent individuals. Though
membership figures are not available (or consistently reported) for all these groups, the Pew
Forum was able to gather membership estimates from websites, questionnaires and interviews
for 35 of the 90 groups that represent individuals. These 35 groups make up 16% of the 216
groups in this study. Collectively, these groups have a total of more than 3.5 million members
and other constituents. Even allowing for the potential of inflated counts, this sample suggests
a potential grassroots reach of several million people for advocacy organizations that represent
individuals.
Additionally, the employees and clients of religious institutions also can be viewed as
constituents. The following self-reported examples illustrate the representational reach of
some institutions:
- Association
of Catholic Colleges and Universities: more than 200 institutions of higher
learning
- Association of Christian Schools International: more than 5,900 member schools
in 106 nations
- Care Net: more than 1,000 crisis pregnancy centers
- Catholic Charities USA: more than 150 agencies
- Catholic Health Association of the United States: more than 600 hospitals
- National Institute of Family and Life Advocates: 1,200 centers
- National Religious Broadcasters: 1,400 broadcasters and media ministries
- Jewish Federations of North America: more than 150 federations and over 300 independent
community groups
Additionally, because many religious traditions and denominations have Washington advocacy
offices, millions of their members are, in a sense, represented. For example, the Ethics &
Religious Liberty Commission says it represents the 16 million members of the Southern
Baptist Convention. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism says it advocates on
behalf of the Union for Reform Judaism’s 900 congregations with 1.5 million members. The
Washington Office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America says it speaks on behalf of
10,000 congregations and 4.2 million members. And Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, says the organization acts “as shepherds of over 70
million U.S. citizens.”20 However, members of a particular faith do not always know about, or
necessarily agree with, the activities of the denomination’s advocacy office in Washington.
Footnotes:
20 See http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/upload/dolan-letter-on-religious-liberty.pdf. (return to text)