Ryan Burge

• Professor of Practice, Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, Washington University in St. Louis

Ryan Burge is a professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He will teach undergraduate courses through the Department of Political Science.

Burge is a political scientist whose research focuses on the impact of religion on American life, especially politics. His popular Substack newsletter“Graphs about Religion” has tens of thousands of subscribers and is read millions of times annually. He is a well-known data analyst with work appearing in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, POLITICO, and he has been featured on 60 Minutes.

He previously served for 13 years in the political science department at Eastern Illinois University, where he was also the graduate coordinator. He earned his undergraduate degree in history/political science from Greenville University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Following his doctoral work, he served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, where he advised on polling and data analysis.

Dr. Burge is the author of five books. His debut, The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going (Fortress Press, 2021), explores the dramatic rise of non-religious Americans and offers explanations for this seismic cultural shift. His next book, 20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America (Fortress Press, 2022), addressed widespread misconceptions about religion, politics, and their intersection. In 2023, he collaborated with pastors Michael Graham and Jim Davis to write The Great Dechurching: Who's Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? (Zondervan). Based on three original surveys, this work investigates the reasons behind declining church attendance in the United States. In 2024, he published The American Religious Landscape: Facts, Trends, and the Future (Oxford University Press), an accessible, data-rich overview of religious groups including Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, Hindus, and atheists. His forthcoming book, The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us (Brazos, 2026), examines religious polarization and its broader implications for American society.

Burge served as a pastor in the American Baptist Church for over twenty years.

• –present Assistant Professor of Political Science, Eastern Illinois University

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