Where does your state rank in religious belief?

World Net Daily ^ | Feb 15,2009 | Drew Zahn

[blueyon]

A recent poll of more than 350,000 Americans on the importance of religion revealed that the nation is separated into enclaves of widely divergent viewpoints on faith, with some states and regions clearly religious and others significantly secular.

Gallup conducted a telephone poll of 355,334 U.S. adults, asking the question, "Is religion an important part of your daily life?"

As one might suspect, states from the "Bible Belt" scored the highest, with 85 percent of Mississippians and 79 percent of Tennesseeans, for example, answering yes.

The poll also revealed, however, that in addition to the Bible Belt, the U.S. also has a pair of "secular strips."

The New England states of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine scored the lowest in the nation, with only 42 percent of Vermont residents – or less than half the percentage of those in Mississippi – answering yes.

The other "secular strip" can be found in the West, where Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Nevada all scored in the bottom 10 states for affirming religion's importance in daily life.

[Clemenza]

You have obviously not lived in SOUTH Florida, which has a huge chunk of the state's population. Hedonism is the rule rather than the exception in Palm Beach/Broward/Miami-Dade counties.

Orange and Osceola counties are just filled with idiots. Then again, so is much of the sunshine state.

[Yudan]

The lawyer problem is due to the fact that Ole Miss Law had a DIPLOMA PRIVILEGE until about 1985. Yup. Practice without taking the bar.

But to your question....No, they’re not more moral. They’ve just been raised to feel guilty about it.

[Coleus]

it looks almost like the Charity and Blood Donor map:

 

Charity's Political Divide, Republicans give a bigger share to charity (Democrats Don't)

 

ABC News: Who Gives and Who Doesn't?

Are Americans Cheap? (John Stossel)

[Lexinom]

They are every bit as religious as anyone, it is just that theirs is the religion of the fool.

"The fool says in his heart, There is no God."

[Mila]

This columnist also wondered if there was a correlation. Here are his findings.

http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2009/02/state_by_state_data_on_religio.php

[vetvetdoug]

Mississippians more moral? Ethics and morality have gone out the window in these parts. Government representatives are like the hogs at a trough and the locals make the Madows look like a third rate criminal enterprise when compared with their economic counterparts in the area.

[Yudan]

Doug, I think you need to re-read my response. I said “no.”

[FFranco]

This columnist also wondered if there was a correlation. Here are his findings.

http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2009/02/state_by_state_data_on_religio.php

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Interesting, thanks. There appears to be an inverse correlation between how religious people say they are and indicators of social and family distress. It probably is also related to educational levels, ie, less educated populations tend to be more religious and also have more family and social problems, plus economic problems which contribute to the others.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

To quote and old commercial:

“Just outside Chicago, there’s a place called Illinois!”

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

argh, and = an

[MinnesotaLibertarian]

This map shows something that I’ve brought up before - the significant differences in the Western and Southern versions of conservatism. Red states like Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Arizona, and Alaska are among the least religious, as are the until-recently red states Nevada and Colorado. I think the GOP’s focus on “moral” issues and pandering to the religious right, in addition to abandoning economic conservatism, is what is causing us to lose this region. We’ve lost Nevada and Colorado, with Montana and Arizona slated to be next. I believe this has also hurt the party in the Pacific Northwest and northern New England, where many anti-tax and pro-gun sentiments are still alive and well. There’s no reason for us to get wiped out in Oregon or Washington, let alone New Hampshire. Dropping the focus on religious “issues” is the key to reversing the trend of becoming a regional, losing party.

[SuziQ]

Not surprising about MA. Don’t know about any other religions, but many Catholics here have this attitude that religion is only for Sundays at Church. It’s considered ‘not classy’ to discuss it at any other time. That’s what the folks in ‘Jesusland’ do, don’t you know.

[virgil]

Life long IL downstater here. Can’t agree with you more. I have nothing but deep contempt for that overgrown gorilla of a city consisting of liars, thieves, murderers and the brain dead. I wish the state of IL would secede from Chicago.

[dixiechick2000]

Yudan and wardaddy are right.

I live in the People’s Republic of Oregon.
Comparing it to Mississippi is like night and day.
Religious folks consider it a mission field!
I certainly don’t like all of the New Age stuff.

I told someone just the other day that I’m much more comfortable in MS than I am in OR.

[eleni121]

It looks like a whole lot of evangelizing needs to be done right here in the US...no surprise there.