Over the last 20 years, internet usage has increased substantially, providing an inexpensive source of data that may be less prone to bias and could provide a greater number of meso and macro units. However, validating big data and their usefulness has been challenging. This study uses established sources to validate Google Trends' search interest in the “Bible” across US Designated Market Areas and “Ramadan” across nations, establishing a potential new source of religion data. We then use these measures to show that people from religiously conservative US areas and countries are more likely to disapprove of homosexuality, abortion and pornography. Conversely, Americans from conservative religious areas are also more likely to search for these topics; and cross-national interest in Islam is associated with increased interest in pornography. Our study offers insight into Google Trends’ potential for social science research and a roadmap on how to use these data.

在过去的 20 年中，互联网的使用量大幅增加，提供了一种廉价的数据来源，可能不太容易出现偏见，并且可以提供更多的中观和宏观单位。然而，验证大数据及其有用性一直具有挑战性。本研究使用已建立的资源来验证 Google 趋势在美国指定市场区域和国家/地区对“圣经”和“斋月”的搜索兴趣，从而建立了一个潜在的新宗教数据来源。然后，我们使用这些措施来表明，来自宗教保守的美国地区和国家的人更有可能不赞成同性恋、堕胎和色情。相反，来自保守宗教地区的美国人也更有可能搜索这些主题；对伊斯兰教的跨国兴趣与对色情的兴趣增加有关。