I am so sorry to disappoint my favorite lefty commenter to this site, Right Wing Snarkle, but the United States is still a very religious nation.
And that is a good thing.
But, Mr. Snarkle will be happy to know that he lives in one of the two least religious areas of the United States. That would be the Northeast and the Northwest.
What is also fascinating is where those of a particular religion have the highest or lowest average.
Some of it is not a real surprise.
Such as the strength of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Sure, they are well highest in Utah. But they do have a strong following in surrounding states such as Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada and Arizona. Mormons are below average in Massachusetts, yet Mitt Romney was elected governor in 2002.
Roman Catholic strength is in places like New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut on the East coast. In the Upper Midwest, the strongest Roman Catholic presence is in Illinois and Wisconsin. In the Deep South, only Louisiana has a strong Roman Catholic presence. New Mexico and California round out the states with a strong or stronger than average Roman Catholic presence.
Protestant and or non-Roman Catholic Christians are strong in the South, Midwest and the Upper Midwest.
The states where Jewish practitioners are strongest are New York, The District of Columbia, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Florida, Maryland, California and Connecticut. Sadly, there are some states, such as Montana, in which no one surveyed was Jewish. It does not mean that there are not Jewish people, just that the community is so small that it can not register in a poll like this.
What I would have been interested in is where are Islamics the strongest and the weakest.
The poll has a state-by-state breakdown.
For the United States as a whole, the breakdown is 54% Protestant, 24% Roman Catholic, Jewish 2%, Mormon 2%. Atheists and or Agnostics are at 13%.
The bottom line is that, thankfully, the United States is still a nation of believers. Believers of many different faiths. But the belief in a higher power makes this nation the largest of those who believe. And have the freedom to do just that.
HT: TransFigurations @ www.transfigurations.blogspot.com
5 comments:
Hooray for the Mormons and Mitt!! I agree Righty...this is a religious nation, and for those who have issues with it, try being more tolerant of different philosophies, it is what liberals advertise, a monopoly on love, caring and acceptance. Great Post! :)N
Why, thanks for the madd props.
Religion is a wonderful form of self-delusion, and is often harmless.
Mormonism strikes me as one of the wackier delusions around, but to each his own, I guess. They certainly seem to like big, gaudy, restricted-acess buildings.
Strong religious beliefs have brought us such wonderful things as Mountain Meadows, the Spanish Inquisition, the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and Pentagon, progroms in Russia, the killing of Dr. George Tiller, and too many other similar events to keep track of.
Thankfully, the Constitution makes clear that people are free to pursue whatever form of religious self-delusion they choose; or none at all.
You might want to track/cross-tab such matters as the incidences of divorce, teen-age pregancy, domestic violence, etc. with a given community's, state's, or region's incidence of religious self-delusion. it makes for some interesting comparisons.
But, seriously, if you want to believe in a beardedman on a cloud and flying jesus, etc. - be my guest.
Hugs and kisses.
Oh snarkle you are just pissed you didn't take advantage of that multi-wife thing when it was a gig. Don't worry when they pass some more gay marriage stuff polygamy is right around the corner and you can get in on it then. Thanks for the big love. koombaya brother.
Oh, I forgot to mention the catholic church's response to the years of sexual abuse of minors by priests - they transferred the priests as part of the overall coverup.
Also, a question for Nikki - are you a dude?
Maybe, are you? You go first...Are you asking to see my man parts?
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