Kevin Courcey

According to Kevin Courcey in the following viewpoint, research claiming that religious faith helps keep Americans from abusing drugs and alcohol is flawed. He claims that such studies, which are funded by groups working to make religion more central to American society, inflate the number of religious believers, create misleading categories that distort the results, and exaggerate the severity of alcohol abuse. Despite claims by these researchers, the number of nonbelievers is growing nationwide, Courcey claims; developing nonreligious-based treatment options for those individuals will become increasingly important. Courcey is a registered nurse at Humboldt County Mental Health in Eureka, California.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In Courcey’s opinion, why is the American Religious Identification Survey, conducted by the City University of New York, more objective than...