I believe that those who have a real concern for communicating the gospel to the people God has sent them to will find great value in research that explores and exposes cultural and religious trends. So, of course, I want to share a few things with you that are worth noting.

The ARDA Archives have been updated
I've blogged about The Association of Religion Data Archives before (some great stuff there). Well, the website has recently been updated with several new improvements and features.

ARDA's GIS Maps now have an improved interface that is much easier to use. It provides one-button access to a report for the displayed error and changing areas is as easy as enter a zip code and clicking a button. Try it out at here.

Our U.S. Congregational Membership feature now includes advanced reports. View membership reports for any selection of counties, metro areas or states that you want! Our advanced state reports provide quick links for maps of census divisions. Try it out here.

ARDA's National Profiles have been updated. The Adherents page for each country and region has been updated to include agnostics. The Socio-Economic page includes education measures such as the adult literacy rate and gross enrollment rate.

Check out the Census 2000 Foreign-Born Population Map Series by Selected Countries of Birth

These state level maps show percent distributions and some detailed socio-economic characteristics from Census 2000 for the foreign-born population in the United States and Puerto Rico for selected countries of birth, such as Mexico, China, the Philippines, India and El Salvador. Comparative maps for the native and total foreign-born populations are also provided. The socioeconomic characteristics include poverty rate, public assistance income, labor force participation rate, language ability and year of entry for noncitizens. Internet address. (Check it out)

Getting Current: Recent Demographic Trends in Metropolitan America
The Brookings Institution has released some helpful stats in their March 2009 report on recent demographic trends across the United States. It's a 28 page report that breaks down trends concerning migration, immigration, aging, educational attainment, and poverty in the United States. The report reveals:

Migration across states and metro areas has slowed considerably in the past two years due to the housing crisis and looming recession.

Racial and ethnic minorities are driving the nation's population growth and increasing diversity among its younger residents.

The next decade promises massive growth of the senior population, especially in suburbs unaccustomed to housing older people.

Even before the onset of the current recession, poverty rose during the 2000s, and spread rapidly to suburban locations.

There's a lot more. Download the report here (PDF)