Dr. Ken Culton, Chair of the Department of Sociology at Niagara University, will discuss how sociologists have understood religion in the past and how that understanding has changed over time. He will present research on religion and the value of seeing religion from a sociological perspective. Findings from his 2022 paper, “Shifting Identifications Among Religious and Non-Religious Emerging Adults at a Northeastern U.S. Mainstream Denominational College” will be presented. Dr. Culton will also discuss some recent trends in religious identification in the US and some thoughts about his present research that is based on interviews with UU members.