In February 2016, the Pew Research Center published a study entitled, How Religious is Your State. One question on the survey asked how important religion was in the respondent’s life. The states were then ranked by what percent responded that religion was very important in the respondents’ lives. Alabama and Mississippi tied for first with 77 percent.
Alabama was also first in those who said they believed in God with absolute certainty, 82 percent. Alabamians were second, 73 percent, in those who claim to pray daily. They were also second with 51 percent who claimed they went to church one or more times weekly.
I have listed the first 15 states that were classified as highly religious, i.e. those where 60 percent or more respondents considered religion very important in their lives. Besides that percentage figure for each state, I have given the percent who voted for Trump in the 2020 Election.
- Alabama 77% Trump 62%
- Mississippi 77% Trump 58%
- Tennessee 73% Trump 61%
- Louisiana 71% Trump 59%
- Arkansas 70% Trump 62%
- South Carolina 70% Trump 55%
- West Virginia 69% Trump 69%
- Georgia 66% Trump 49%
- Oklahoma 66% Trump 65%
- North Carolina 65% Trump 50%
- Texas 64% Trump 52%
- Utah 64% Trump 58%
- Kentucky 63% Trump 62%
- Virginia 61% Trump 44%
- Missouri 60% Trump 57%
You may notice that 14 of the 15 of these states are either Southern or Border States having a Southern religious culture. Utah is the exception, being predominantly LDS.
The only Southern state that did not make the top 15 was Florida, which has a mixed Southern and national culture but was tied with several others at 22nd place.
Florida 54% Trump 51%
Some Midwestern, Plains, and Mountain States that ranked high in Trump votes are noted below:
South Dakota, 59% religious, rank 16 Trump 62%
Ohio, 58% religious, rank 17 Trump 53%
Iowa 55% religious, rank tied 19 Trump 53%
Kansas, 55% religious, rank tied 19 Trump 58%
Indiana 54% religious, rank tied 22 Trump 57%
Nebraska 54% religious, rank tied 22 Trump 58%
Wyoming 54% religious, rank tied 22 Trump 70%
North Dakota 53% religious, rank 27 Trump 65%
Idaho, 51% religious, rank 33 Trump 64%
Montana 49% religious, rank 39 Trump 57%
I mention Maryland separately, which is a mix of a small part of Southern culture now overwhelmed by District of Columba culture. Maryland, which 141 years ago supplied 30,000 volunteers to the Confederate Army, tied at place 22 with 54 percent religious, but is one of the most left-progressive states in the U.S. with only a 32 percent vote for Trump.
It is worth noting, along with Maryland, the lowest percent of Trump voters in 2020 and their low inclination to religious devotion:
Vermont, 34% religious, rank tied for 48, 31% Trump
Maine, 34% religious, rank tied for 48, 44% Trump
New Hampshire, 33% religious, rank tied for 50, 45% Trump
Massachusetts, 33% religious, rank tied for 50, 32% Trump
New England is for the most part solidly Democrat and low in religious inclinations. New Hampshire was once a reliably conservative Republican state but is now a hard capture for Republicans. Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont have moved considerably to the left politically and religiously, due to immigration from Massachusetts and New York City. New York ranks 43rd in religious devotion at 46 percent, and Trump received only 38 percent of the vote in 2020. However, Republican Lee Zeldin received 47 percent of the vote in the 2022 Governor race.
Two states that may determine the U.S. Senate majority may be of interest.
Nevada, 49 percent religious, ranking 35 of 50, Trump 48%.
Arizona, 53 percent religious, ranking tied for 27, Trump 49.1% vs. Biden 49.4%.
Of the 15 states that were 60 percent or more religious, Trump won 13 of them (87%) in 2020. Of the 33 states that were at least 51 percent religious, 70 percent of them voted for Trump in 2020. Of the 17 states with below 50 percent religious, Trump won only one—Alaska—which is only 45 percent religious, but where Trump received 53 percent of the vote.
There are, of course, other cultural, ethnic, and economic factors with many nuances that influence each voter, community, and state.
In my county, Johnston County, North Carolina, there was no provision for straight-party voting, but virtually all the Republican candidates got close to 62 percent of the 2022 vote in the county. Donald Trump got 61 percent of the vote in the county in 2020.
North Carolina did have a bit of a red wave this year. Conservative Republican Ted Budd was elected to the United States Senate. The State Senate Republicans now hold 30 of 50 seats, and Republicans in the NC House have 68 of 120 seats. Republicans will also have a 5 to 2 majority on the North Carolina Supreme Court.
However, the national election results make me wonder how much crime, lawless corruption, lying, illegal immigration, inflation, unemployment, social nonsense, moral and spiritual depravity, tyranny, and war will be necessary to wake Americans up to the disastrous evils and follies that are wrecking our culture and threaten our civilizational collapse.
