Robert is a leading speaker, scholar, and consultant at the intersection of religion and politics. He is the author of Progressive & Religious: How Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist Leaders are Moving Beyond the Culture Wars and Transforming American Public Life (see also www.progressiveandreligious.org). He is also a Visiting Fellow in Religion at The Third Way, a progressive think tank, and a regular columnist for the online magazine Religion Dispatches. Dr. Jones’ work is frequently featured in the media and has appeared in U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, MSNBC.com, National Public Radio, and others.

Previously, Dr. Jones served as an affiliated scholar at the Center for American Progress and as the founding director and senior fellow of the Center for American Values in Public Life at People for the American Way Foundation. Prior to his work in DC, he was assistant professor of religious studies at Missouri State University. He is also the author of Liberalism’s Troubled Search for Equality: Religion and Cultural Bias in the Oregon Physician-assisted Suicide Debates and numerous articles.

Dr. Jones holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University, and a M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He sits on the national steering committee for the Religion and Politics Group at the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and is an active member of the Society of Christian Ethics and the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR).

Dan brings extensive experience in surveying religious groups in the United States. Prior to joining Public Religion Research, Dan worked as a Research Associate at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, where he was involved with all aspects of public opinion survey research, including designing survey questionnaires, performing data analysis and authoring survey reports. In 2007, Dan played a major role in the groundbreaking Religious Landscape Survey, a large public opinion survey on religion and politics that interviewed over 35,000 Americans. Dan specializes in youth politics and religion and his work has appeared in numerous national news and religious publications including the New York Times, ABC News, CNN, Newsweek, World Magazine, the Dallas Morning News, and the Orlando Sentinel.

Dan holds an M.A. in American government from Georgetown University, where he focused on youth, religion and public opinion, and holds a B.A. in political science from Union College.

Dan is an active member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR).