The Public Religion Research Institute is a nonprofit research organization that creates and interviews citizens for opinion polls, usually about religion, culture, and public policy. ¹

The Public Religion Research Institute receives much of its revenue in the form of grants from left-of-center organizations including the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, the James Irvine Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. ^{2 3 4}

PRRI’s president and founder, Robert P. Jones, has authored books including White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, and The End of White Christian America. ⁵

Background

The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) is a nonprofit research organization that primarily conducts public opinion polls on religion and culture and how those subjects impact public policy. Although the organization claims to be nonpartisan, it has received grants from left-of-center organizations such as the Arcus Foundation. ^{6 7}

PRRI published a report in February 2023 that claims the “rising influence of Christian Nationalism” in politics “poses a major threat” to American democracy, adding that a “culture war” is being created by “a right animated by a Christian nationalist worldview,” opposing those who “embrace” religious and racial diversity. ⁸

PRRI notes that its public opinion research is based on “probability sampling,” and interviews are conducted by professional interviewers, mostly over phone calls. ⁹

Financials

The Public Religion Research Institute had a total revenue amount of just under $2.8 million in 2018, approximately $2.6 million came in the form of contributions and grants. The organization spent just under $3.3 million in functional expenses, including $209,424 for executive compensation and $880,000 for salaries and wages. ¹⁰

PRRI’s revenue decreased to just over $2.6 million in 2019, with approximately $2.5 million coming from grants and contributions. Its total expenses amounted to just over $3 million, including $158,000 for executive compensation and just over $1 million for salaries and wages. ¹¹

PRRI’s revenue decreased again in 2020 as it received just over $2 million, more than $1.9 million of which came in the form of contributions and grants. Its total expenses also fell to just over $1.8 million, with $210,000 for executive compensation, and just over $800,000 for salaries and wages. ¹²

Funding

The Public Religion Research Institute receives most of its revenue in the form of grants from major grantmaking foundations, many of which are left-leaning.

The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a left-of-center grantmaking organization that has awarded substantial grants to left-of-center organizations. The Carnegie Corporation of New York granted PRRI $400,000 in 2014, $550,000 in 2016, $550,000 in 2018, $600,000 in 2020, and $700,000 in 2022. Most of the grants were to support PRRI projects relating to immigration. ¹³

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation headquartered in New York City named for famed industrialist and Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon. The foundation was formed in 1969 as a merger of two separate foundations that had been founded by Mellon’s son and daughter respectively. The foundation granted a total of $2.16 million to PRRI in 2021. ^{14 15}

The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund is a private foundation that provides grants to left-of-center activist groups, with a focus on supporting liberal expansionist immigration policy, LGBT interests, education, and organizations in the San Francisco Bay area. The foundation granted PRRI $145,000 in 2011, $100,000 in 2012, $50,000 in 2014, $160,500 in 2016, a $150,000 grant each year for 2017, 2018, and 2019, and a grant of $300,000 in 2020. All grants made to PRRI were labeled under the foundation’s “LGBT Equality” program area. ^{16 17}

The Henry Luce Foundation is a left-of-center foundation that provides grants to organizations that focus on higher education, religion and theology, art, and public policy. The foundation granted PRRI $30,000 in 2010, $450,000 in 2014, $550,000 in 2017, $250,000 in 2020, and $1 million in 2021. ¹⁸

PRRI used the $1 million grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to create the Religion and Renewing Democracy Initiative, which would expand the PRRI Public Fellows program, and support new scholars “working in the areas of racial justice and migration.” ¹⁹

The Arcus Foundation is a left-leaning grantmaking foundation associated with billionaire medical device heir Jon Stryker which, since its founding in 2000, has focused on promoting ethnic minority and LGBT interests and conserving great ape populations. In 2019, it prioritized all of its left-leaning social justice initiatives to focus on issues related to the LGBT movement. The foundation granted PRRI a grant of $75,000 in 2015, a grant of $150,000 each year from 2016 until 2019, $300,000 in 2020, and another $300,000 in 2022. ^{20 21 22}

The James Irvine Foundation is a California nonprofit donor organization with a history of donations to left-of-center labor union activist organizations. The foundation granted PRRI $40,000 in 2014, $500,000 in 2017, and $360,000 in 2019. ^{23 24}

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is a left-of-center grantmaking foundation created by David Packard, cofounder of Hewlett-Packard, in 1964. The foundation granted PRRI $300,000 in 2022 to “support the American Values Atlas (AVA) and communications outreach.” ²⁵

The Open Society Foundations (OSF) has provided several grants to the PRRI, at least three between 2016 and 2022, totaling $705,000. In 2016, the PRRI received a $330,000 grant from OSF for the purpose of providing, “project support in order to build on the Grantee’s previous research of white working-class Americans.” ²⁶ In 2020 and 2022, the PRRI received grants, $75,000 and $300,000 respectfully, from OSF for the purpose of providing, “general support.” ²⁷

Partnerships

PRRI is partnered with various organizations including the Brookings Institution, the left-of-center magazine The Atlantic, and Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. ²⁸

It is also partnered with the American Academy of Religion and the American Association for Public Opinion Research. ²⁹

People

PRRI’s president and founder, Robert P. Jones, has authored books including White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, and The End of White Christian America. ³⁰

Jones has written for media outlets such as The Atlantic, and NBC Think. He is also featured on left-of-center news agencies including CNN, NPR, MSNBC, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. ³¹

Jones also sits on the national program committee for the American Academy of Religion, which is partnered with PRRI. ³²

Criticism

The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is a nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the level of immigration into the United States. ³³ CIS has criticized PRRI for how it has conducted surveys related to immigration. CIS objected to one PRRI poll that gave respondents two options on how to address illegal immigration; one being to arrest and deport all illegal immigrants and the other being to secure borders and grant all illegal immigrants a “path to citizenship.” ³⁴

1. “About – PRRI.” Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.prri.org/about/.
2. “Public Religion Research Institute.” Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. August 2, 2015. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.haasjr.org/grants/grantee/public-religion-research-institute.
3. “Public Religion Research Institute.” The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/grants-database/public-religion-research-institute/.
4. “Search Grants Awarded.” The James Irvine Foundation. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.irvine.org/our-grants/search-grants-awarded/?grant_search=Public+Religion+Research+Institute.
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6. “About – PRRI.” Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.prri.org/about/.
7. “Grantees | Arcus Foundation.” Arcus. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.arcusfoundation.org/grants/?_paged=1&query=Public%20Religion%20Research%20Institute&focus=default&amount=default&_year=default&location=default.
8. Staff, PRRI. “A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture – PRRI.” Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.prri.org/research/a-christian-nation-understanding-the-threat-of-christian-nationalism-to-american-democracy-and-culture/.
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10. Suozzo, Andrea. “Public Religion Research Institute – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/270586980.
11. Suozzo, Andrea. “Public Religion Research Institute – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/270586980.
12. Suozzo, Andrea. “Public Religion Research Institute – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/270586980.
13. “Public Religion Research Institute.” Carnegie Corporation of New York. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.carnegie.org/grants/grants-database/grantee/public-religion-research-institute/.
14. “History.” Mellon Foundation. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://mellon.org/about/history/.
15. “Grants Database | Mellon Foundation.” Mellon Foundation. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/?grantee=&q=Public+Religion+Research+Institute&s=&n=&e=&w=&z=2&lat=22.7231920&lon=-73.9529910&per_page=25.
16. “Public Religion Research Institute.” Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. August 2, 2015. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.haasjr.org/grants/grantee/public-religion-research-institute.
17. “Mission Statement.” Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. July 24, 2015. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.haasjr.org/about/mission-statement.
18. “Grants.” The Henry Luce Foundation. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.hluce.org/grants/?sort=newest&date_day=&date_month=&date_year=&keyword=Public%20Religion%20Research%20Institute.
19. “PRRI Announces Launch of Religion and Renewing Democracy Initiative – PRRI.” Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.prri.org/press-release/prri-announces-launch-of-religion-and-renewing-democracy-initiative/.
20. “Arcus Culture.” Arcus. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.arcusfoundation.org/arcus-culture/.
21. McGill, Jason. “Arcus Refines Social Justice Strategy to Tackle Mounting LGBTQ Challenges.” Arcus. February 22, 2018. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.arcusfoundation.org/blog/social-justice-lgbt/arcus-refines-social-justice-strategy-tackle-mounting-lgbtq-challenges/.
22. “Grantees | Arcus Foundation.” Arcus. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.arcusfoundation.org/grants/?_paged=1&query=Public%20Religion%20Research%20Institute&focus=default&amount=default&_year=default&location=default.
23. “Search Grants Awarded.” The James Irvine Foundation. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.irvine.org/our-grants/search-grants-awarded/?grant_search=Public+Religion+Research+Institute.
24. “Search Grants Awarded.” The James Irvine Foundation. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.irvine.org/our-grants/search-grants-awarded/.
25. “Public Religion Research Institute.” The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/grants-database/public-religion-research-institute/.
26. “Awarded Grants: Public Religion Research Institute.” Open Society Foundations, Accessed March 18, 2024. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=public+religion+research+institute&grant_id=OR2016-28574
27. “Awarded Grants: Public Religion Research Institute.” Open Society Foundations, Accessed March 18, 2024. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=public+religion+research+institute&grant_id=OR2016-28574
28. ^[1] “Partnerships – PRRI.” Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.prri.org/about/partnerships/.
29. “Professional Associations – PRRI.” Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.prri.org/professional-associations/.
30. “Robert P. Jones, Ph.D. – PRRI.” Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.prri.org/staff/robert-p-jones-ph-d/.
31. “Robert P. Jones, Ph.D. – PRRI.” Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.prri.org/staff/robert-p-jones-ph-d/.
32. “Robert P. Jones, Ph.D. – PRRI.” Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.prri.org/staff/robert-p-jones-ph-d/.
33. “Center for Immigration Studies Background.” Accessed February 20, 2023. https://cis.org/Center-For-Immigration-Studies-Background.
34. “Recent Immigration Polls: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Pt. 1.” Accessed February 20, 2023. https://cis.org/Renshon/Recent-Immigration-Polls-Good-Bad-and-Ugly-Pt-1.