States with the highest church attendence

[Plutonic Panda]

Utah- 51%
Mississippi – 47%
Alabama – 46%
Louisiana – 46%
Arkansas – 45%
South Carolina – 42%
Tennessee – 42%
Kentucky – 41%
North Carolina – 40%
Georgia – 39%
Texas – 39%
Oklahoma – 39%


- Frequent Church Attendance Highest in Utah, Lowest in Vermont

[Chadanth]

I'm a little surprised texas and Oklahoma came in so low.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

I'm a little surprised texas and Oklahoma came in so low.

Same here.

[Zuplar]

If that graph doesn't depict the bible belt and buckle I don't know what does. Just goes to show that church is still a booming business in the south.

[PennyQuilts]

Oh, jeeze. Let's track down and "expose" where the Muslims and Quakers have taken over, too. What is this religion obsession? Someone please explain why this is even a thing.

[kelroy55]

Oh, jeeze. Let's track down and "expose" where the Muslims and Quakers have taken over, too. What is this religion obsession? Someone please explain why this is even a thing.

Please explain why most the posts on here is even a thing. It seems you're the only one that is upset about this thread.

[Chadanth]

Oh, jeeze. Let's track down and "expose" where the Muslims and Quakers have taken over, too. What is this religion obsession? Someone please explain why this is even a thing.

Wow, I didn't even start mocking religion yet and you got worked up.

[PennyQuilts]

Wow, I didn't even start mocking religion yet and you got worked up.

It's an honest question, C - why in the world is there such obsession over it? Who cares? And why? I don't get it. It made sense for competing churches who actually believe to be interested in what other churches are saying. But so many people who don't even go to church seem so fixated with the whole concept? Why?

[Tigerguy]

It's an honest question, C - why in the world is there such obsession over it? Who cares? And why? I don't get it. It made sense for competing churches who actually believe to be interested in what other churches are saying. But so many people who don't even go to church seem so fixated with the whole concept? Why?

Ummm...am I missing something here? I see a map about which states go to church, and that's it. It's just an interesting statistic. I got no vibe that somebody was trying to lay out the bait for a conversation about a war on religion, or some such thing. I don't even know what to call it because I definitely didn't infer any of that from the infographic or the initial comments.

[kelroy55]

Ummm...am I missing something here? I see a map about which states go to church, and that's it. It's just an interesting statistic. I got no vibe that somebody was trying to lay out the bait for a conversation about a war on religion, or some such thing. I don't even know what to call it because I definitely didn't infer any of that from the infographic or the initial comments.

Reactions like PQ's is why a lot of religious people say there's a war on religion when in fact there isn't one.

[PennyQuilts]

Ummm...am I missing something here? I see a map about which states go to church, and that's it. It's just an interesting statistic. I got no vibe that somebody was trying to lay out the bait for a conversation about a war on religion, or some such thing. I don't even know what to call it because I definitely didn't infer any of that from the infographic or the initial comments.

Why would anyone care enough to even post it? And, presumably, it wasn't found in some obscure book on a shelf - someone no doubt placed it on social media somewhere to get picked up and posted here. My question remains - why on earth does anyone care?

[Chadanth]

It's an honest question, C - why in the world is there such obsession over it? Who cares? And why? I don't get it. It made sense for competing churches who actually believe to be interested in what other churches are saying. But so many people who don't even go to church seem so fixated with the whole concept? Why?

Because religion influences politics and economics. Did california propose a bill to fire court clerks for recognizing gay marriage? Is New York trying to ban AP courses? It matters.

[PennyQuilts]

Because religion influences politics and economics. Did california propose a bill to fire court clerks for recognizing gay marriage? Is New York trying to ban AP courses? It matters.

Every state out there has wackiness, including California and New York. If memory serves, btw, California overwhelming supported traditional marriage and got that tossed out by their courts. If silly stories about Oklahoma were posted by people who just are opposed to silliness or who seemed to have a genuine love and respect for the state and its people (including the rubes) it would be one thing. It is pretty much nonstop looking for things to swoon over, insistence that we are just the laughing stock of the country and completely ignoring what is going on, nationwide. Be honest, there is a very busy group absolutely convinced Oklahoma leads the nation in being racist, sexist, intolerant, etc. They don't make the slightest effort to be fair minded, evenhanded or rational about it.

[Bunty]

Oh, jeeze. Let's track down and "expose" where the Muslims and Quakers have taken over, too. What is this religion obsession? Someone please explain why this is even a thing.

Simply go to the State Capitol and view the Ten Commandments monument. Instead of that thing, I'd far rather see a monument to the Bill of Rights, considering how often it is that the legislators pass unconstitutional bills and leave the taxpayers the bill from defending them. But then maybe religious right Republicans would think that's a bad idea since it would constitute worshiping government.

[Jersey Boss]

I read this article awhile back and it offers a somewhat different view. The article mentions the "halo effect" and how folks tend to over report things such as church attendance as well as under report things such as frequency of drinking alcoholic beverages. It appears that there are other factors in play also when arriving at church attendance numbers and how Gallup which reports that 40% of Americans are regular church goers.

7 Startling Facts: An Up Close Look at Church Attendance in America

[Motley]

Gallup takes polls on all kinds of topics. A more interesting site is Nate Silver's fivethirtyeight.com in which they analyze the meaning of the polls.

[CuatrodeMayo]

Then there's Utah...

[Mel]

Wasn't surprised at all to see Utah as No. 1 and cali not even mentioned.

[bchris02]

Whenever you have a fundamentalist religious sect wanting to enshrine a narrow interpretation of their sacred text into law and legally discriminate against non-believers, there is going to be some pushback. Religion is a personal matter and a true conversion to Christianity happens in the heart of the believer, as a personal commitment between the believer and God. It is NEVER by force or by rule of law. The Catholic Church in medieval Europe didn't get it and the Fundamental Baptist church in America doesn't get it today.

[PennyQuilts]

Whenever you have a fundamentalist religious sect wanting to enshrine a narrow interpretation of their sacred text into law and legally discriminate against non-believers, there is going to be some pushback. Religion is a personal matter and a true conversion to Christianity happens in the heart of the believer, as a personal commitment between the believer and God. It is NEVER by force or by rule of law. The Catholic Church in medieval Europe didn't get it and the Fundamental Baptist church in America doesn't get it today.

I get why the fanatics are interested - but surely you aren't suggesting it is mainstream to be nuts about this, are you? Why in the world would a healthy adult care how many people go to church in a given state? Are they afraid of these people, or what? The stats mean little. Look at the map - is anyone really worried that those states with highest church attendance are going to take over? Seriously?

[Dubya61]

Whenever you have a fundamentalist religious sect wanting to enshrine a narrow interpretation of their sacred text into law and legally discriminate against non-believers, there is going to be some pushback. Religion is a personal matter and a true conversion to Christianity happens in the heart of the believer, as a personal commitment between the believer and God. It is NEVER by force or by rule of law. The Catholic Church in medieval Europe didn't get it and the Fundamental Baptist church in America doesn't get it today.

That's very interesting to say. Do you believe that the Fundamental Baptist church (is there even such an organization?) has the same power that the Catholic Church had?

[bchris02]

That's very interesting to say. Do you believe that the Fundamental Baptist church (is there even such an organization?) has the same power that the Catholic Church had?

No, but they seek that kind of power. If they could get it, they would establish a fundamentalist Christian state that wouldn't look that much different from the Islamic Middle East. The movie V for Vendetta paints a pretty accurate picture of what the society they want would look like. Their roadblock is the US Constitution, specifically the 1st Amendment.

[PennyQuilts]

No, but they seek that kind of power. If they could get it, they would establish a fundamentalist Christian state that wouldn't look that much different from the Islamic Middle East. The movie V for Vendetta paints a pretty accurate picture of what the society they want would look like. Their roadblock is the US Constitution, specifically the 1st Amendment.

The movie V. There's part of the problem. It is a movie - not real life. What you are saying is truly nuts. People really aren't trying to take over the country and impose some sort of Americanized sharia law and if you have a few nutjobs, they're just nuts and no danger. The very people you fear the most are also the ones most supportive of the Constitution and the rule of law.

[PennyQuilts]

From the article:

Ten of the 12 states with the highest self-reported religious service attendance are in the South, along with Utah and Oklahoma. The strong religious culture in the South reflects a variety of factors, including history, cultural norms and the fact that these states have high Protestant and black populations -- both of which are above average in their self-reported religious service attendance. Utah's No. 1 position on the list is a direct result of that state's 59% Mormon population, as Mormons have the highest religious service attendance of any major religious group

[Jersey Boss]

Good god, if you don't like the show that's on, you are free to watch another channel, or turn off the television. If you don't like the thread, go to a different one or turn off the viewing device.