Pew Forum Releases Ranking of States by Indicators of Religiosity

Last week the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released its findings on the levels of reported religiosity in the states. The analysis considered four measures derived from polling data: the stated importance of religion in people's lives, the frequency of attendance at religious worship, the frequency of prayer, and respondents’ indication of their certainty of belief in God.  Listed in descending order, the ten states ranking highest according to these factors were: Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Georgia, and Kentucky.  Data from Mississippi showed 82 %  of the representative respondent sample characterized religion as very important in their lives,  77% prayed at least once a day, 60% attended a religious service once a week, and 91% expressed absolute certainty in their belief in God.

JFB