List of U.S. states and territories by religiosity

Last updated

The degree of religiosity in the population of the United States can be compared to that in other countries and compared state-by-state, based on individual self-assessment and polling data.

Contents

Methodologies

The Gallup Poll assesses religiosity around the world, [1] asking "Is religion important in your daily life?" and in the United States by state, asking the degree to which respondents consider themselves to be religious. The Pew Research Center and Public Religion Research Institute have conducted studies of reported frequency of attendance to religious service. [2] The Harris Poll has conducted surveys of the percentage of people who believe in God. [3]

Results

Religious denominations (Pew Research 2014)

Religions by metropolitan areas

Religion in Major U.S metropolitan areas (2014) [55]
Metro areaNet Religious (%)Total Christian (%)Evangelical Protestant (%)Mainline Protestant (%)Historically Black Protestant (%)Catholic (%)Latter-day Saint (%)Other (%)None (%)
Dallas 827838147151418
Atlanta 8076331218111320
Houston 807330119191420
Miami 79682011827<11021
Chicago 78711611834<1722
Minneapolis 777015274211523
Detroit 766720141516<1824
New York City 765998633<11624
Philadelphia 766813171126<1824
Washington, D.C. 76651415121911024
Los Angeles 7565189332<1925
Riverside, Calif. 757130103223425
Phoenix 746625111216726
San Diego 736814162322527
Boston 6757913329<11033
San Francisco 654810642511535
Seattle 6352231011511037

Attendance

Church or synagogue attendance by state in 2009
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>=50% attending weekly
45-49% attending weekly
40-44% attending weekly
35-39% attending weekly
30-34% attending weekly
25-29% attending weekly
20-24% attending weekly
15-19% attending weekly Weekly religious service attendance by US State gradient (2014).svg
Church or synagogue attendance by state in 2009
  ≥50% attending weekly
  45-49% attending weekly
  40-44% attending weekly
  35-39% attending weekly
  30-34% attending weekly
  25-29% attending weekly
  20-24% attending weekly
  15-19% attending weekly

A 2013 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute reported that 31% of Americans attend religious services at least weekly. [2] In 2006, a world-wide online Harris Poll surveyed 2,010 U.S. adults [56] and found that 26% of those surveyed attended religious services "every week or more often", 9% went "once or twice a month", 21% went "a few times a year", 3% went "once a year", 22% went "less than once a year", and 18% never attend religious services. A 2013 Harris Poll reported an 8% decline in a belief in God, since a prior 2009 poll. [3]

According to a 2011 Gallup poll, the state with the greatest percentage of respondents identifying as "very religious" was Mississippi (59%), and the state with the smallest percentage were Vermont and New Hampshire (23%), while Florida (39%) and Minnesota (40%) were near the median. [57] A 2014 Pew Research poll found that the states with the greatest percentage of respondents who stated that religion was "very important" or "somewhat important" to their lives were Alabama (90%) and Louisiana (90%), while the state with the smallest percentage was Vermont (57%). [58]

U.S. states and Washington, D.C.

Percentage of respondents in the USA stating that religion is "very important" or "somewhat important" to their lives, 2014 Importance of Religion in the United States of America.svg
Percentage of respondents in the USA stating that religion is "very important" or "somewhat important" to their lives, 2014
Weekly church attendance by state (Pew) [59]
RankStatePercent
1Flag of Utah.svg  Utah 53%
2Flag of Alabama.svg  Alabama 51%
2Flag of Tennessee.svg  Tennessee 51%
4Flag of Mississippi.svg  Mississippi 49%
5Flag of South Carolina.svg  South Carolina 47%
6Flag of Louisiana.svg  Louisiana 46%
6Flag of West Virginia.svg  West Virginia 46%
8Flag of Virginia.svg  Virginia 44%
9Flag of Oklahoma.svg  Oklahoma 43%
10Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg  Georgia 42%
10Flag of Texas.svg  Texas 42%
12Flag of Arkansas.svg  Arkansas 41%
13Flag of North Carolina.svg  North Carolina 39%
13Flag of Kentucky.svg  Kentucky 39%
13Flag of Nebraska.svg  Nebraska 39%
16Flag of Ohio.svg  Ohio 38%
16Flag of Wyoming.svg  Wyoming 38%
18Flag of Missouri.svg  Missouri 37%
18Flag of Kansas.svg  Kansas 37%
18Flag of Indiana.svg  Indiana 37%
21Flag of South Dakota.svg  South Dakota 36%
21Flag of New Mexico.svg  New Mexico 36%
21Flag of Iowa.svg  Iowa 36%
21Flag of Rhode Island.svg  Rhode Island 36%
25Flag of New Jersey.svg  New Jersey 35%
25Flag of Florida.svg  Florida 35%
25Flag of Idaho.svg  Idaho 35%
28Flag of Arizona.svg  Arizona 34%
28Flag of Pennsylvania.svg  Pennsylvania 34%
28Flag of Delaware.svg  Delaware 34%
28Flag of Illinois.svg  Illinois 34%
28Flag of Minnesota.svg  Minnesota 34%
33Flag of Michigan.svg  Michigan 33%
33Flag of North Dakota.svg  North Dakota 33%
35Flag of Maryland.svg  Maryland 31%
35Flag of California.svg  California 31%
35Flag of Nevada.svg  Nevada 31%
35Flag of Montana.svg  Montana 31%
39Flag of Colorado.svg  Colorado 30%
39Flag of Alaska.svg  Alaska 30%
39Flag of Washington.svg  Washington 30%
42Flag of Oregon.svg  Oregon 29%
42Flag of New York.svg  New York 29%
44Flag of Washington, D.C.svg  District of Columbia 28%
44Flag of Hawaii.svg  Hawaii 28%
44Flag of Connecticut.svg  Connecticut 28%
47Flag of Wisconsin.svg  Wisconsin 27%
48Flag of Massachusetts.svg  Massachusetts 23%
49Flag of Maine.svg  Maine 22%
49Flag of New Hampshire.svg  New Hampshire 22%
51Flag of Vermont.svg  Vermont 21%
Weekly church attendance by state (Gallup) [60]
RankStatePercent
1Flag of Utah.svg  Utah 51%
2Flag of Mississippi.svg  Mississippi 47%
3Flag of Alabama.svg  Alabama 46%
4Flag of Louisiana.svg  Louisiana 46%
5Flag of Arkansas.svg  Arkansas 45%
6Flag of South Carolina.svg  South Carolina 42%
7Flag of Tennessee.svg  Tennessee 42%
8Flag of Kentucky.svg  Kentucky 41%
9Flag of North Carolina.svg  North Carolina 40%
10Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg  Georgia 39%
11Flag of Texas.svg  Texas 39%
12Flag of Oklahoma.svg  Oklahoma 39%
13Flag of New Mexico.svg  New Mexico 36%
14Flag of Nebraska.svg  Nebraska 35%
15Flag of Indiana.svg  Indiana 35%
16Flag of Virginia.svg  Virginia 35%
17Flag of Delaware.svg  Delaware 35%
18Flag of Missouri.svg  Missouri 35%
19Flag of Idaho.svg  Idaho 34%
20Flag of West Virginia.svg  West Virginia 34%
21Flag of Arizona.svg  Arizona 33%
22Flag of Kansas.svg  Kansas 33%
23Flag of Michigan.svg  Michigan 32%
24Flag of Ohio.svg  Ohio 32%
25Flag of Illinois.svg  Illinois 32%
26Flag of North Dakota.svg  North Dakota 32%
27Flag of Pennsylvania.svg  Pennsylvania 32%
28Flag of Iowa.svg  Iowa 32%
29Flag of Florida.svg  Florida 32%
30Flag of Maryland.svg  Maryland 31%
31Flag of South Dakota.svg  South Dakota 31%
32Flag of Minnesota.svg  Minnesota 31%
33Flag of New Jersey.svg  New Jersey 30%
34Flag of Wisconsin.svg  Wisconsin 29%
35Flag of Rhode Island.svg  Rhode Island 28%
36Flag of Wyoming.svg  Wyoming 28%
37Flag of California.svg  California 28%
38Flag of New York.svg  New York 27%
39Flag of Nevada.svg  Nevada 27%
40Flag of Montana.svg  Montana 27%
41Flag of Alaska.svg  Alaska 26%
42Flag of Connecticut.svg  Connecticut 25%
43Flag of Colorado.svg  Colorado 25%
44Flag of Hawaii.svg  Hawaii 25%
45Flag of Oregon.svg  Oregon 24%
46Flag of Washington.svg  Washington 24%
47Flag of Washington, D.C.svg  District of Columbia 23%
48Flag of Massachusetts.svg  Massachusetts 22%
49Flag of Maine.svg  Maine 20%
50Flag of New Hampshire.svg  New Hampshire 20%
51Flag of Vermont.svg  Vermont 17%

The table below displays the results of a 2014 survey by Pew Research: [61]

State
or District
Overall Religiosity RankBelieve in God with CertaintyConsider Religion ImportantPray DailyAttend Weekly Worship Services
Flag of California.svg  California 3554%47%51%31%
Flag of Texas.svg  Texas 1169%63%63%42%
Flag of Florida.svg  Florida 2264%53%56%35%
Flag of New York.svg  New York 4356%45%48%29%
Flag of Illinois.svg  Illinois 3361%50%51%34%
Flag of Pennsylvania.svg  Pennsylvania 2761%51%54%34%
Flag of Ohio.svg  Ohio 1767%56%57%38%
Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg  Georgia 874%64%64%42%
Flag of Michigan.svg  Michigan 2763%50%53%33%
Flag of North Carolina.svg  North Carolina 1073%62%66%39%
Flag of New Jersey.svg  New Jersey 1960%50%53%35%
Flag of Virginia.svg  Virginia 1467%60%60%44%
Flag of Washington.svg  Washington 4455%44%46%30%
Flag of Massachusetts.svg  Massachusetts 5040%33%37%23%
Flag of Arizona.svg  Arizona 2762%51%55%34%
Flag of Indiana.svg  Indiana 2263%53%52%37%
Flag of Tennessee.svg  Tennessee 378%71%70%51%
Flag of Missouri.svg  Missouri 1570%56%59%37%
Flag of Maryland.svg  Maryland 2264%50%51%31%
Flag of Wisconsin.svg  Wisconsin 4456%44%46%27%
Flag of Minnesota.svg  Minnesota 3556%46%47%34%
Flag of Colorado.svg  Colorado 4155%47%50%30%
Flag of South Carolina.svg  South Carolina 574%69%66%47%
Flag of Alabama.svg  Alabama 182%77%73%51%
Flag of Louisiana.svg  Louisiana 475%71%68%46%
Flag of Kentucky.svg  Kentucky 1375%63%63%39%
Flag of Oregon.svg  Oregon 3957%45%45%29%
Flag of Oklahoma.svg  Oklahoma 871%64%65%43%
Flag of Connecticut.svg  Connecticut 4754%42%47%28%
Flag of Iowa.svg  Iowa 1966%53%50%36%
Flag of Mississippi.svg  Mississippi 182%74%75%49%
Flag of Arkansas.svg  Arkansas 577%70%65%41%
Flag of Utah.svg  Utah 1161%58%61%53%
Flag of Kansas.svg  Kansas 1966%50%53%37%
Flag of Nevada.svg  Nevada 3559%44%48%31%
Flag of New Mexico.svg  New Mexico 1863%59%55%36%
Flag of Nebraska.svg  Nebraska 2266%54%52%39%
Flag of West Virginia.svg  West Virginia 777%64%68%46%
Flag of Idaho.svg  Idaho 3362%51%50%35%
Flag of Hawaii.svg  Hawaii 4162%44%52%28%
Flag of Maine.svg  Maine 4848%34%35%22%
Flag of New Hampshire.svg  New Hampshire 5043%33%36%22%
Flag of Rhode Island.svg  Rhode Island 3560%48%48%36%
Flag of Montana.svg  Montana 3964%44%51%31%
Flag of Delaware.svg  Delaware 3261%46%49%34%
Flag of South Dakota.svg  South Dakota 1669%57%56%36%
Flag of Alaska.svg  Alaska 4455%41%49%30%
Flag of North Dakota.svg  North Dakota 2764%53%51%33%
Flag of Washington, D.C.svg  District of Columbia 2755%50%51%28%
Flag of Vermont.svg  Vermont 4841%32%33%21%
Flag of Wyoming.svg  Wyoming 2266%49%53%38%

U.S. territories

The following is the percentage of Christians and all religions in the U.S. territories as of 2015 (according to the ARDA): [62]

Note that CIA World Factbook data differs from the data below. For example, the CIA World Factbook says that 99.3% of the population in American Samoa is religious. [63]

TerritoryPercent religious
(all religions)
Percent
Christian
Percent religious
(non-Christian)
Percent
non-religious
Unknown /
Unspecified
Flag of American Samoa.svg  American Samoa 98.5%97.37%1.13%0.88%0.62%
Flag of Guam.svg  Guam 95.4%91.1%4.3%1.8%2.8%
Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands.svg  Northern Mariana Islands 98.85%81.13%17.72%1.11%0.04%
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico 91.53%91.2%0.33%3.16%5.31%
Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg  US Virgin Islands 83.3%81.83%1.47%4.04%12.66%

See also

References

  1. Truss, Catherine; Alfes, Kerstin; Delbridge, Rick; Shantz, Amanda; Routledge, Emma Soane (October 2013), "Employee engagement across cultures", Employee Engagement in Theory and Practice, Business & Economics, p. 336
  2. 1 2 Kaleem, Jaweed (May 20, 2014). "Americans Exaggerate How Much They Go To Religious Services, According To Study". Religion. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  3. 1 2 Willett, Megan (December 17, 2013). "A Fascinating New Poll Shows That Americans Are Losing Faith In God". Business Insider Inc. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  4. "Adults in Mississippi". Pew Research Center.
  5. "Adults in Alabama". Pew Research Center.
  6. "Adults in Louisiana". Pew Research Center.
  7. "Adults in Tennessee". Pew Research Center.
  8. "Adults in South Dakota". Pew Research Center.
  9. "Adults in Texas". Pew Research Center.
  10. "Adults in Arkansas". Pew Research Center.
  11. "Adults in Georgia". Pew Research Center.
  12. "Adults in New Jersey". Pew Research Center.
  13. "Adults in Oklahoma". Pew Research Center.
  14. "Adults in West Virginia". Pew Research Center.
  15. "Adults in Kansas". Pew Research Center.
  16. "Adults in Nebraska". Pew Research Center.
  17. 1 2 "Adults in North Dakota". Pew Research Center.
  18. "Adults in South Carolina". Pew Research Center.
  19. "Adults in Virginia". Pew Research Center.
  20. "Adults in Missouri". Pew Research Center.
  21. "Adults in New Mexico". Pew Research Center.
  22. "Adults in North Carolina". Pew Research Center.
  23. "Adults in Rhode Island". Pew Research Center.
  24. "Adults in Iowa". Pew Research Center.
  25. "Adults in Ohio". Pew Research Center.
  26. "Adults in Pennsylvania". Pew Research Center.
  27. "Adults in Illinois". Pew Research Center.
  28. "Adults in Kentucky". Pew Research Center.
  29. "Adults in Maryland". Pew Research Center.
  30. "Adults in Utah". Pew Research Center.
  31. "America's Changing Religious Landscape". Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life. May 12, 2015.
  32. "Adults in Connecticut". Pew Research Center.
  33. "Adults in Delaware". Pew Research Center.
  34. "Adults in Florida". Pew Research Center.
  35. "Adults in Michigan". Pew Research Center.
  36. "Adults in Wisconsin". Pew Research Center.
  37. "Adults in the District of Columbia". Pew Research Center.
  38. "Adults in Indiana". Pew Research Center.
  39. "Adults in Wyoming". Pew Research Center.
  40. "Adults in Arizona". Pew Research Center.
  41. "Adults in Hawaii". Pew Research Center.
  42. "Adults in Idaho". Pew Research Center.
  43. "Adults in California". Pew Research Center.
  44. "Adults in New York". Pew Research Center.
  45. "Adults in Nevada". Pew Research Center.
  46. "Adults in Montana". Pew Research Center.
  47. "Adults in Colorado". Pew Research Center.
  48. "Adults in Alaska". Pew Research Center.
  49. "Adults in Oregon". Pew Research Center.
  50. "Adults in Maine". Pew Research Center.
  51. "Adults in Massachusetts". Pew Research Center.
  52. "Adults in Washington". Pew Research Center.
  53. "Adults in New Hampshire". Pew Research Center.
  54. "Adults in Vermont". Pew Research Center.
  55. Major U.S. metropolitan areas differ in their religious profiles, Pew Research Center
  56. "Religious Views and Beliefs Vary Greatly by Country, According to the Latest Financial Times/Harris Poll". Harrisinteractive.com. 2006-12-20. Archived from the original on 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  57. Newport, Frank (27 March 2012). "Mississippi Is Most Religious U.S. State Vermont and New Hampshire are the least religious states". gallup.com/poll. Gallup. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  58. 1 2 Importance of religion by state Pew forum
  59. "How religious is your state?". pewforum.org. February 29, 2016.
  60. "Frequent Church Attendance Highest in Utah, Lowest in Vermont". Gallup.com. February 17, 2015.
  61. "Most and least religious U.S. States". 29 February 2016.
  62. http://thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_5_2.asp
    http://thearda.com/internationalData/compare2.asp?c=97
    http://thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_169_2.asp
    http://thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_182_2.asp
    http://thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_240_2.asp
    thearda.com. The ARDA (Association of Religion Data Archives). American Samoa / Guam / Northern Mariana Islands / Puerto Rico / Virgin Islands (U.S.) Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  63. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/american-samoa/ CIA World Factbook. American Samoa. Retrieved September 13, 2021.