Guess what the most religious state is. Guess what the least religious is.(Answers now posted)

A new survey lists the most religious state and the least religious state. Take a guess.

Mississippi most religious, Vermont least, survey says


Following is Gallup's entire list of states, in order of what percentage of respondents said religion is "an important part" of their daily lives:

• Mississippi: 85%
• Alabama: 82%
• South Carolina: 80%
• Tennessee: 79%
• Louisiana: 78%
• Arkansas: 78%
• Georgia: 76%
• North Carolina: 76%
• Oklahoma: 75%
• Kentucky: 74%
• Texas: 74%
• West Virginia: 71%
• Kansas: 70%
• Utah: 69%
• Missouri: 68%
• Virginia: 68%
• South Dakota: 68%
• North Dakota: 68%
• Indiana: 68%
• Nebraska: 67%
• New Mexico: 66%
• Pennsylvania: 65%
• Florida: 65%
• Maryland: 65%
• Ohio: 65%
• Iowa: 64%
• Minnesota: 64%
• Illinois: 64%
• Michigan: 64%
• Delaware: 61%
• Wisconsin: 61%
• District of Columbia: 61%
• Idaho: 61%
• Arizona: 61%
• New Jersey: 60%
• Wyoming: 58%
• Colorado: 57%
• Hawaii: 57%
• California: 57%
• Montana: 56%
• New York: 56%
• Connecticut: 55%
• Nevada: 54%
• Rhode Island: 53%
• Oregon: 53%
• Washington: 52%
• Alaska: 51%
• Massachusetts: 48%
• Maine: 48%
• New Hampshire: 46%
• Vermont: 42%


WASHINGTON — Want to be almost certain you'll have religious neighbors? Move to Mississippi. Prefer to be in the least religious state? Venture to Vermont.
A new Gallup Poll, based on more than 350,000 interviews, finds that the Magnolia State is the one where the most people — 85% — say yes when asked "Is religion an important part of your daily life?"

Less than half of Vermonters, meanwhile — 42% — answered that same question in the affirmative.

<snip>
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-01-29-faith-state-survey_N.htm

but you're in the right regions. RI is still too catholic to be least religious.

but I was close, too. I figured Alabama like TSIAS or Texas for most and Massachusetts for least.

The big surprise to me is number five from the bottom: Alaska. Guess Bullwinkle J. Palin really isn't that representative on that front.

If they're not that religious, then why did they elect a right-wing religious nut job to be the "executive" of their state?

when she was elected in 2006. She campaigned as the anti-Murkowski, not as Queen Esther. Alaska has a long, long history of being irreverent - we're too liberarian (small "l") for that.

I think I'll just post the answer.

I edited it in.

I'd say Israel :)

No idea of the latter.

Israel is more secular than the U.S. Don't know if it's more secular than my heathen little state, though.

http://www.ccr.org.au.nyud.net:8090/images/prayermeetingpraise2.jpg http://images.publicradio.org.nyud.net:8090/content/2006/12/06/20061206_evangelicals_2.jpg

Kentucky and Oregon?

http://purgatorio1.com.nyud.net:8090/wp-content/dec05/22a.jpg http://www.mindspring.com.nyud.net:8090/~atlphoto/snake.jpg

Praise the Lord, and hand me a snake, please.

Hmmm.

maybe it all has something to do with Climate.

It's not surprising to me at all, having lived here for almost 35 years.

:7

The deep South, the Midwest, and then the coasts - the three regions. This reflects the political divisions, as well.

Is religion driving this? I think not. I think it is more of an effect than a cause.

It could be that religion reflects the politics and the politics reflects economics and power imbalance. Much of the religious right is a political movement masquerading as religion, and much of those politics represent a misdirected anger toward and suspicion of the wealthy and powerful - easily caricatured by the right wingers as "those liberal elites on the coast."

Vermont, I think, is not so much a rural state as it is a refuge and second home area for East Coasters.

Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina are not so much Southern as they are rural and impoverished, and subjected to a talent drain for decades as ambitious people moved North.

Wyoming, Alaska, and Idaho seem like they should be much higher on the list.

:eyes:

Oklahoma was not quite as high as I expected but it was in the top ten, and I got Vermont right so I would say they were pretty good guesses. I am shocked to see Idaho so low on the list though, I thought they would be in the top ten for sure.