How religion in the US today tracks closely with geography (CS Monitor)

[pinto]

How religion in the US today tracks closely with geography

A bare majority of Americans still call themselves Protestant as other religions gain ground. But the millennial generation is more likely to reject any formal religion, and this could have political import.

By Brad Knickerbocker, Staff writer / February 8, 2014

Tell me where you live, and there’s a good chance I’ll know your religion.

Mississippi or Alabama? Protestant. Rhode Island or New Jersey? Roman Catholic. Mormon? That’s easy: Utah, although a substantial minority in Idaho is Mormon too. Vermont or Oregon? You could well be "unchurched."

Demography isn’t exactly spiritual destiny. But for most Americans, their religious identity tracks closely with where they live.

If they’re Protestant, they’re more likely to live in the South. Seven of the ten most-Catholic states, on the other hand, are in the Northeast – although California and New Mexico, with heavily Hispanic populations, have large numbers of Catholics as well.

These are some of the findings in a new Gallup survey.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2014/0208/How-religion-in-the-US-today-tracks-closely-with-geography

[cbayer]

1. Nice analysis of this recent data.