NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) — Mississippi, Utah and Alabama are the most religious states and Vermont and New Hampshire the least religious, according to a Gallup survey that asked respondents about their religion and their church attendance.
The survey, released March 27, is based on interviews with 350,000 adults in 2011 as part of Gallup’s daily tracking poll. The poll asked respondents if religion is an important part of their daily life, and also asked them if they attend religious services every week or almost every week.
Southern states were the most religious, while the Northeast and Northwest states the least religious. (See the full list at the bottom of this story.)
Mississippi led the way with 59 percent of its citizens being labeled very religious, followed by Utah (57 percent), Alabama (56), Louisiana (54), Arkansas (54), South Carolina (54), Tennessee (52), North Carolina (50), Georgia (48) and Oklahoma (48).
Vermont and New Hampshire each had only 23 percent of respondents labeled as very religious. That was followed by Maine (25 percent), Massachusetts (28), Alaska (28), Oregon (30), Nevada (30), Washington (30), Connecticut (31), District of Columbia (32), New York (32) and Rhode Island (32).
The pattern of religiosity, the survey said, has “remained stable in recent years.”
Nationwide, 40 percent of Americans are considered very religious.
Following is the list of states, and the District of Columbia, based on the percentage considered very religious:
Mississippi, 59 percent
Utah, 57 percent
Alabama, 56 percent
Louisiana, 54 percent
Arkansas, 54 percent
South Carolina, 54 percent
Tennessee, 52 percent
North Carolina, 50 percent
Georgia, 48 percent
Oklahoma, 48 percent
Texas, 47 percent
Kentucky, 47 percent
South Dakota, 45 percent
Kansas, 45 percent
Indiana, 45 percent
Missouri, 44 percent
North Dakota, 44 percent
Nebraska, 44 percent
West Virginia, 43 percent
Virginia, 42 percent
Idaho, 42 percent
New Mexico, 41 percent
Iowa, 41 percent
Minnesota, 40 percent
Pennsylvania, 40 percent
Ohio, 39 percent
Maryland, 39 percent
Florida, 39 percent
Illinois, 39 percent
Wisconsin, 37 percent
Michigan, 37 percent
Arizona, 35 percent
Montana, 35 percent
California, 35 percent
Wyoming, 34 percent
New Jersey, 34 percent
Delaware, 33 percent
Colorado, 33 percent
Hawaii, 33 percent
Rhode Island, 32 percent
New York, 32 percent
District of Columbia, 32 percent
Connecticut, 31 percent
Washington, 30 percent
Nevada, 30 percent
Oregon, 30 percent
Alaska, 28 percent
Massachusetts, 28 percent
Maine, 25 percent
New Hampshire, 23 percent
Vermont, 23 percent
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Compiled by Michael Foust, associate editor of Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).
