The ARDA (Association of Religious Data Archives) has interactive maps where you can see the religiosity of various areas. Both in terms of raw numbers and as a percentage of the population.
Among interesting data*:
Rhode Island is the most Catholic state in the country. Tennessee is the least so.
Rhode Island is also the most Episcopal state in the country. The least so is Nevada. That last part is interesting because the current head of the Episcopal Church was previously a bishop for that state.
Unexpectedly, the most Mormon county in the country is not in Utah.
Less unexpectedly, the top four states for Unitarianism are in New England. The six states that comprise of New England are all in the top seven. Delaware is the other state in the top seven, and neighboring Maryland is #8. It’s not until you get to number 9 (Minnesota) that you get far from the coast. Mississippi is the least Unitarian.
Hindus follow the rest of the country as far as population goes. There is no data on rates of adherence, but in raw numbers, four of the five states with the most Hindu congregations are four of the five largest states in the country. (Almost completely unrelated, but did you know that the four largest states in the country all have an “Orange County”?)
Citizens of Minnesota are the least likely to be Southern Baptist. The top 15 states of the SBC had at least portions of them claimed by the Confederacy in the Civil War. Kansas is next, then Alaska.
I typically associate the Assemblies of God (Pentacostals) with Arkansas and Oklahoma, and sure enough they’re at the top of the list. But outside of those states, the most adherent states are in the west. The northwest most specifically, and Alaska and Hawaii.
* - Unless stated otherwise, most X and least X refer to rates of adherence and not raw numbers.
Almost completely unrelated, but did you know that the four largest states in the country all have an “Orange County”?
Arguably not entirely coincidental. Good orange-growing weather is a big part of what makes California, Texas, and Florida such desirable places to live.
Though New York’s Orange County has nothing to do with the fruit, so that part is entirely coincidental.
Comment by Brandon Berg — July 26, 2011 @ 7:30 pm
I don’t see Hindus on the list, though it would be my guess that New Jersey has the most Hindus of any state.
While New Jersey does not have an Orange County, it has a cluster of towns (Orange, East Orange, South Orange and West Orange) collectively known as “the Oranges.”
Comment by Peter — July 26, 2011 @ 8:23 pm
Peter: While New Jersey does not have an Orange County, it has a cluster of towns (Orange, East Orange, South Orange and West Orange) collectively known as “the Oranges.”
All things considered, they should be known as the Blacks. Especially East and no-direction…
The best pizza anywhere comes from Star Tavern in Orange. I once met former acting governor Richard Codey there.
Random Fact: The song Pleasant Valley Sunday is named for Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange.
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Here in North Jersey, Catholicism is so prevalent that I didn’t know until high school that you could be Christian without being Catholic.
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Your post reminds me of the episode of Cheers where Woody and Kelly discuss their religious differences.
Comment by Mike Hunt — July 27, 2011 @ 11:26 am
Brandon, very true. The only outlier is New York. I guess my preference for colder weather makes me want to dispute your “desirable places to live” thesis (at least as it pertains to climate). California? Maybe. Texas or Florida? Not so much.
Comment by trumwill — July 27, 2011 @ 12:27 pm
Peter, if I recall, New Jersey was the fifth state in the “four out of five”. If data were available on a per-capita basis, there’s a pretty good chance they would be #1, I’d think.
Comment by trumwill — July 27, 2011 @ 12:30 pm
Mike, you meet all the New Jersey bigwigs. I’m envious.
Comment by trumwill — July 27, 2011 @ 12:31 pm
Here is that Cheers link if anyone is interested.
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Mike, you meet all the New Jersey bigwigs.
Tonight I got to talk to Corey Booker, who is the Mayor of Newark. He was on Oprah recently accepting a gift from Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame.
Codey was there as well, selling autographed copies of his new book. If Christie was smart, he would run for POTUS in 2012, because if he doesn’t win, he is going to lose to Codey in 2013. Christie is only popular west of the Delaware River.
While I have never explicitly stated my political leanings on here, all of the names that I have dropped have been from the same side of the aisle.
Comment by Mike Hunt — July 27, 2011 @ 10:26 pm
Well, it doesn’t seem there’s much point to being a Republican if you live in Jersey.
I can’t tell you why, but at some point I formed the impression of Codey as being good people.
Does Christie really want to be president? He strikes me as getting a charge out of the speculation, but not a guy who would actually run. If the GOP wins, maybe he can wrangle a cabinet appointment. I know that New Jersey just changed its succession rules. Would the governorship go to a Republican or Democrat?
Comment by trumwill — July 28, 2011 @ 7:13 pm
I can’t tell you why, but at some point I formed the impression of Codey as being good people.
He is really a humble, down-to-Earth, kind of guy. It is tough to be pretentious when you are a funeral director.
Does Christie really want to be president? He strikes me as getting a charge out of the speculation, but not a guy who would actually run.
IDK. He says he doesn’t, but having all those people from around the country drafting you can be mighty convincing. Plus, you have to strike while the iron is hot, as Mario Cuomo can sadly tell you…
Furthermore, I don’t know if someone with his physical appearance and condition can win a Presidential election. In case you didn’t hear, he went to the hospital today with an asthma attack.
As an aside, it was Piggy who had asthma in Lord of the Flies.
I know that New Jersey just changed its succession rules. Would the governorship go to a Republican or Democrat?
Yes as of 2010 the Secretary of State is next in line, and by definition she is of the same party. Under the old rules it would have gone to the Senate President, who is currently a Democrat.
Comment by Mike Hunt — July 28, 2011 @ 8:11 pm
IDK. He says he doesn’t, but having all those people from around the country drafting you can be mighty convincing. Plus, you have to strike while the iron is hot, as Mario Cuomo can sadly tell you…
I was just having that conversation with someone with regard to Rick Perry. It’s true. Everybody told Barack Obama to wait. It was a good thing (for him) that he didn’t.
Furthermore, I don’t know if someone with his physical appearance and condition can win a Presidential election. In case you didn’t hear, he went to the hospital today with an asthma attack.
As an aside, it was Piggy who had asthma in Lord of the Flies.
That is a concern. Al Gore put on weight during his run. Christie, howevermuch I might defend him against attacks on that basis on lesser offices, doesn’t have much room to grow, as it were. And there’s only one thing more stressful than running for president. Being president. I had a couple of friends that were convinced Cheney was actually going to run (this was during Bush’s first term) in 2008. “Not if he wants to live,” I said.
When I was young and fat, I had an inhaler. I might have had a light case of athsma. But I might have just been fat.
Yes as of 2010 the Secretary of State is next in line, and by definition she is of the same party. Under the old rules it would have gone to the Senate President, who is currently a Democrat.
That’s what I thought, though I wasn’t sure (particularly whether there was a ticket or they ran independently) and wasn’t near a computer. I actually prefer the dual-job (SoS* & LtG) nature of the job to a Lt. Governor who merely waits to be governor or has some ceremonial senate role. The fact that they run together is also a plus. It can create problems where that isn’t the case.
* - Of course, most of the time the Secretary of State doesn’t do much except records, registrations, and elections. But there was enough room for mischief to put George Ryan in jail.
Comment by trumwill — July 28, 2011 @ 11:43 pm
Orange County, New York, an exurban area of New York Metro, and the Oranges (East, West, South, and “plain”), a mix of modern suburbs, traditional pre-war suburban settlement, and urban blight, are all references to William III of Orange.
they should be known as the Blacks. Especially East and no-direction…
Once upon a time, I lived in East Orange. My aunt still lives in Orange. Some parts of Orange and to a lesser extent East Orange are nice, and other parts have a depressing urban form and are textbook cases of “the ghetto”. Given the choice, I’d probably blow my money South Orange though.
I actually prefer the dual-job (SoS* & LtG) nature of the job to a Lt. Governor who merely waits to be governor or has some ceremonial senate role.
FWIW, I think it’s silly, and I had no qualms about having the President of the Senate take over the role.
Comment by David Alexander — July 29, 2011 @ 2:53 am
David Alexander: FWIW, I think it’s silly, and I had no qualms about having the President of the Senate take over the role.
The only change I would make is that the ranking Senator of the same party should get to be acting Governor. In other words, if Christie were to leave he would be replaced by Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr instead of Senate President Steve Sweeney.
If that name sounds vaguely familiar, its because his father was the most popular Governor in NJ history, and was Chairman of The 9/11 Commission.
David, next time you visit your aunt, be sure to visit Star.
Comment by Mike Hunt — July 29, 2011 @ 3:44 pm
The main objection I have to the way New Jersey did it is the same as the Speaker of the House being in line for the presidency. It shouldn’t change party hands. Mike Hunt’s proposal addresses it, though I think I still prefer the regular model.
Comment by trumwill — July 29, 2011 @ 8:39 pm