And the notion of collecting the names and addresses of people of various persuasions is distasteful. The census also is not interested in such topics as sexual orientation, where your parents were born, what they did for a living and how much they made, how much wealth your family has, what language your children speak at home and how many pets you have. A. You betcha. Getting a question on the census form is the holy grail for social scientists, but it's not easy to do. The Census Bureau makes up the questions, but they can be vetoed by Congress.
Religion is tops on the wish list.
The U.S. is the most religiously developed country in the world and there's great interest in understanding it. In these days of e-commerce, marketing experts would give a lot to know how many homes are wired to the Internet. The list is endless and potentially could reveal huge amounts about the country's strengths and weaknesses. But it won't happen. The answers are used to make sure voting rights and equal opportunity laws are not violated.