National Congregations Study: Cumulative File, 1998, 2006-2007, 2012, 2018-2019, [United States]

The National Congregations Study (NCS) is a national survey effort to gather information about America's congregations. The first wave of the NCS took place in 1998, and the study was repeated in 2006-07, 2012, and 2018-19. The NCS tracks continuity and change among American congregations, and each NCS wave also explores new subjects.
With information from 5,333 congregations collected over a span of more than 20 years, the NCS helps us better understand many aspects of congregational life in the United States, and how congregations are changing in the 21st century. The NCS contributes to knowledge about American religion by collecting information about a wide range of congregations' characteristics and activities at different points in time.
In all four waves, the NCS was conducted in conjunction with the General Social Survey (GSS). The 1998, 2006, 2012, and 2018 waves of the GSS asked respondents who attend religious services to name their congregation, thus generating a nationally representative sample of religious congregations. Researchers then located these congregations. In 2006, the sample included re-interviews of a subset of congregations that participated in 1998, and in 2018-19, the sample included re-interviews of a subset of congregations that participated in 2012.
A key informant at each congregation - a minister, priest, rabbi, or other staff person or leader - provided each congregation's information via a one-hour interview conducted either over the phone or in-person. The survey gathered information on many topics, including the congregation's leadership, social composition, structure, activities, and programming. The NCS gathers information about worship, programs, staffing, community activities, demographics, funding, and many other characteristics of American congregations. Respondents of the NCS survey were asked to describe the worship service and programs sponsored by the congregation other than the main worship services, including religious education classes, musical groups, and recreational programs. Informants described the type of building in which the congregation met, whether it belonged to the congregation, and whether visitors came just to view the building's architecture or artwork. Congregations were geocoded, and selected census variables are included in this study.

全国教会研究（National Congregations Study, NCS）是一项面向美国各类宗教教会开展信息收集的全国性调查项目。该研究的首轮调查于1998年启动，后续分别于2006-2007年、2012年及2018-2019年完成三轮重复调研。NCS旨在追踪美国宗教教会的延续性与变迁轨迹，且每一轮调查都会探索全新的研究主题。

依托跨越20余年的5333个宗教教会的调研数据，NCS助力研究者更深入地理解美国教会生活的诸多面向，以及21世纪以来美国教会的变革趋势。该项目通过收集不同时间节点下各类教会的特征与活动信息，为学界深化美国宗教议题的认知提供了坚实的研究支撑。

四轮调查均与综合社会调查（General Social Survey, GSS）联合开展。1998年、2006年、2012年与2018年轮次的GSS会向参与宗教仪式的受访者询问其所属教会的信息，由此构建出具有全国代表性的宗教教会样本。后续研究人员对这些教会进行了定位。2006年的调查样本中纳入了1998年参与过调研的部分教会的回访访谈；2018-2019年的样本则包含了2012年参与调研的部分教会的回访数据。

每个教会的关键知情人——即牧师、神父、拉比或其他教职人员与教会领袖——通过为时一小时的电话或线下访谈提供该教会的相关信息。本次调研涵盖诸多主题，包括教会的领导层构成、社会组成、组织架构、各类活动与项目设置。NCS收集的信息涉及宗教礼拜仪式、项目开展情况、人员配置、社区活动、人口统计特征、资金状况以及美国教会的其他多项特征。NCS的受访者被要求描述该教会的礼拜仪式，以及除主礼拜活动外的其他赞助项目，包括宗教教育课程、音乐团体与休闲娱乐项目。知情人还需说明教会举办活动的建筑类型、该建筑是否归教会所有，以及访客是否仅为观赏建筑的建筑风格或艺术作品而来。所有受访教会均完成了地理编码，公开数据文件中亦包含了部分选定的人口普查变量。