Runner-up Religions

[Econoline]

I thought this map was pretty interesting. Any thoughts from anybody else on this?

source

[BoSoxGal]

Saw this map on NPR's Facebook feed. I'd love to know how far behind Christianity the runner ups are in terms of number of adherents.

I know Missoula's pretty hip, but it's hard to believe we have very many Buddhists in Montana.

[TPFKA@W]

The town I live in in Indiana has the largest Mosque in North America so I am unsurprised by Indiana's status, and of course Michigan is known for being Muslim territory. We have a lot of Indians here too, but some of them are probably Muslim as well. The Muslim ladies dress wear their headdress but when anyone comments to me about it I say it's really no different to me than the Pentecostal ladies (which we also have in abundance) who wear their "uniform" of a skirt and long hair. It all screams subjugation of the females of the species to me.

[rubato]

I'm not sure if Buddhism functions in the lives of those who claim it in the way that other religions do.



yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

I'd love to know how far behind Christianity the runner ups are in terms of number of adherents.

That's an excellent point; if the numbers are really tiny, this map is kind of misleading...Also if 2nd and 3rd (and maybe 4th) are really close together it's also a little misleading...

The one real surprise to me in looking at this map, is apparently there are more Muslims than Jews in Florida...

[Sue U]

From HuffPo:

The researchers found Illinois to be the most Muslim state with around 2.8 percent of the population identifying as Muslim adherents. The researchers found Montana to be the least Muslim state with only 0.034 percent identifying as Muslim adherents.

***

The researchers found New York to be the most Jewish state with around 4 percent of the population identifying as Jewish adherents. The researchers found Wyoming to be the least Jewish state with only about .02 percent identifying as Jewish adherents.

According to this study, Florida clocks in at 0.877% Muslim, 0.683% Jewish.

However, the survey's definition of "adherent" is more stringent than self-identification alone, in that it counts only those actually affiliated with a congregation that meets regularly at a pre-announced time and location. By this measure, for example, the number of Jews in the U.S. is about 2.2 million; however, a recent census of the (at least nominally) Jewish population in the U.S. puts the number at roughly 6 million. So the more strongly a population joins or attends a particular local house of worship, the more strongly it is represented in this survey.

So you get results like this:

The researchers found Utah to be the most Christian* state with around 78 percent of population identifying as Christian adherents. The researchers found Maine to be the least Christian state with only about 27 percent identifying as Christian adherents.

I'm pretty sure if you asked Mainers whether they were Christians, substantially more than one in four would say yes.

[MajGenl.Meade]

The researchers found Utah to be the most Christian* state with around 78 percent of population identifying as Christian adherents.

I would have guessed Christianity would be second to Mormonism there

[dgs49]

Meade, my BP went up a few points when I saw that. Obviously, the consider "The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints" to be a "Christian" religion.

I am always reminded of Abe Lincoln's riddle about dogs' legs.

[Sue U]

The researchers found Utah to be the most Christian* state with around 78 percent of population identifying as Christian adherents.

I would have guessed Christianity would be second to Mormonism there

Frankly, y'all look alike to me.

[Big RR]

Obviously, the consider "The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints" to be a "Christian" religion.

No one associated with the project appears to be making any such decision; people are self identifying and Mormons usually consider themselves to be Christians (as do roman catholics, which some protestant groups also deny is a chrisitian religion, and probably vice versa). I would think similar divisions exist in other religions (the various moslem sects, e.g.) Not sure there is any other way to take such a survey other than letting people state their religious preference themselves, since there are no religious bodies which control the broad generic names and can say who is or is not a part of the broad groups.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Meade, my BP went up a few points when I saw that. Obviously, the consider "The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints" to be a "Christian" religion.

I am always reminded of Abe Lincoln's riddle about dogs' legs.

Take the meds. If you paint "Jesus Christ" on a dog, it's still a dog and not a Christian.

e,g,
Mormon sacred texts: Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price (plus no doubt whatever fake the next charlatan in authority writes)
Christian scared texts: Bible

Even Big RR should be able to spot the ball

[BoSoxGal]

This morning I'm and must rectify my grammar error: it should be runners up, not runner ups!

Here is some great information about religion in the US from the Pew Research Forum, from a 2008 study (which they should update):

Summary of Key Findings
Major Religious Traditions in the U.S.
An extensive new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life details statistics on religion in America and explores the shifts taking place in the U.S. religious landscape. Based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans age 18 and older, the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey finds that religious affiliation in the U.S. is both very diverse and extremely fluid.

Key Findings and Statistics on Religion in America

More than one-quarter of American adults (28%) have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another religion - or no religion at all. If change in affiliation from one type of Protestantism to another is included, 44% of adults have either switched religious affiliation, moved from being unaffiliated with any religion to being affiliated with a particular faith, or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition altogether.

The survey finds that the number of people who say they are unaffiliated with any particular faith today (16.1%) is more than double the number who say they were not affiliated with any particular religion as children. Among Americans ages 18-29, one-in-four say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion.

The Landscape Survey confirms that the United States is on the verge of becoming a minority Protestant country; the number of Americans who report that they are members of Protestant denominations now stands at barely 51%. Moreover, the Protestant population is characterized by significant internal diversity and fragmentation, encompassing hundreds of different denominations loosely grouped around three fairly distinct religious traditions - evangelical Protestant churches (26.3% of the overall adult population), mainline Protestant churches (18.1%) and historically black Protestant churches (6.9%).

While those Americans who are unaffiliated with any particular religion have seen the greatest growth in numbers as a result of changes in affiliation, Catholicism has experienced the greatest net losses as a result of affiliation changes. While nearly one-in-three Americans (31%) were raised in the Catholic faith, today fewer than one-in-four (24%) describe themselves as Catholic. These losses would have been even more pronounced were it not for the offsetting impact of immigration. The Landscape Survey finds that among the foreign-born adult population, Catholics outnumber Protestants by nearly a two-to-one margin (46% Catholic vs. 24% Protestant); among native-born Americans, on the other hand, the statistics show that Protestants outnumber Catholics by an even larger margin (55% Protestant vs. 21% Catholic). Immigrants are also disproportionately represented among several world religions in the U.S., including Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Although there are about half as many Catholics in the U.S. as Protestants, the number of Catholics nearly rivals the number of members of evangelical Protestant churches and far exceeds the number of members of both mainline Protestant churches and historically black Protestant churches. The U.S. also includes a significant number of members of the third major branch of global Christianity - Orthodoxy - whose adherents now account for 0.6% of the U.S. adult population. American Christianity also includes sizeable numbers of Mormons (1.7% of the adult population), Jehovah's Witnesses (0.7%) and other Christian groups (0.3%).

Like the other major groups, people who are unaffiliated with any particular religion (16.1%) also exhibit remarkable internal diversity. Although one-quarter of this group consists of those who describe themselves as either atheist or agnostic (1.6% and 2.4% of the adult population overall, respectively), the majority of the unaffiliated population (12.1% of the adult population overall) is made up of people who simply describe their religion as "nothing in particular." This group, in turn, is fairly evenly divided between the "secular unaffiliated," that is, those who say that religion is not important in their lives (6.3% of the adult population), and the "religious unaffiliated," that is, those who say that religion is either somewhat important or very important in their lives (5.8% of the overall adult population).

Even smaller religions in the U.S. reflect considerable internal diversity. For instance, most Jews (1.7% of the overall adult population) identify with one of three major groups: Reform, Conservative or Orthodox Judaism. Similarly, more than half of Buddhists (0.7% of the overall adult population) belong to one of three major groups within Buddhism: Zen, Theravada or Tibetan Buddhism. Muslims (0.6% of the overall adult population) divide primarily into two major groups: Sunni and Shia.

Very cool interactive maps from the Pew website (allows you to search by state/religious affiliation):

http://religions.pewforum.org/maps

[Big RR]

Even Big RR should be able to spot the ball

Yep, clearly in "Whatever they want to call themselves, it doesn't bother me" territory. I will point out differences between what I and another person believe, but I don't hold the trademark on the name "Christian", so if that's what they choose to call themselves, so be it. IMHO labels are pretty pointless, and tend to blunt understanding and discussion.

[Lord Jim]

Interesting article and link BSG...

[rubato]

The researchers found Utah to be the most Christian* state with around 78 percent of population identifying as Christian adherents.

I would have guessed Christianity would be second to Mormonism there

It's like watching Sunnis, Shiias and Sufis playing together.


"The truths of religion are never so well understood as by those who have lost their power of reasoning."

"The man who says to me, 'Believe as I do, or God will damn you,' will presently say, 'Believe as I do, or I shall assassinate you.'"

Voltaire

yrs,
rubato

[dgs49]

So lemme ask yins this: If you took a survey and asked people whether they were: Brilliant, Very Bright, Average, Stupid, or Retarded, would you accept the responses as definitive? I wouldn't.

As we have discussed in this forum before, "Christianity" is not "whatever I think it should be," but rather a fairly well defined set of beliefs. There is no question that the Mormons would very much like to be considered "just another Protestant Christian sect." They even changed their trademark to increase the typeface of the words, "Jesus Christ." But their beliefs are not compatible with the beliefs of any other established Christian religion. They are polytheistic for one thing, and believe that Mormons can BE GODS in the next life. Not be "saved," or "go to heaven": they can be GODS.

Not a minor point.

Protestantism is not the predominant religion in Utah, even if the natives would like to think so.

[Scooter]

Meade, my BP went up a few points when I saw that. Obviously, the consider "The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints" to be a "Christian" religion.

Yes, just like the Pope did, when he invited LDS representatives to attend an exclusively Christian prayer service when he visited the U.S.

And before shove your foot in your mouth as deeply as you did the last time this was pointed out to you, have someone who knows how to use a dictionary point out the definition of "ecumenical" as applied to religion.

[Big RR]

"Christianity" is not "whatever I think it should be," but rather a fairly well defined set of beliefs

so then would you agree or disagree with those protestants (and there are many) who call Roman Catholicism polytheistic (by the prayer to and worship/adoration of saints, mary, etc.) not rooted solely in the bible, and thus nonchristian (and, please, let's not derail this thread with an argument about the legitimacy of those beliefs, keep to the question as who has the authority to decide what religion is Christian and what is not)? Pretty silly to allow a bunch of self-appointed arbiters to set the "rules" that must apply to everyone. If you don't think LDS is Christian, fine; if they do, fine. Same with the RC church and any other that purports to be Christian. You, I or anyone else can have our own opinions, but they are not binding on anyone else.

[MajGenl.Meade]

The authority is Jesus Christ in determining who is His follower and who is not. As to individuals, I can never know if a person is Christian (there are so many ways to cover up, as the RC priests debacle shows; not mention such as Jimmy Braggart) - but it is rather easier to determine if he or she is not.

A Christian believes what Christ believed - in the authority of scripture which teaches that man is not a God and that when He (Christ) comes again He comes known to the entire world. He does not come again and go to live in what became the USA. He (the Christian) does not deny original sin; does not take up either "The Book of Mormon" (a palpable forgery) or "The Shack" - a palpable new age gloss that opposes Scripture.

Those who teach contrary to Christ are not Christians. Whether they say they are or not - whether they are protestants, Romans, Mormons, Christian Scientists or any new age fad. I don't know if members of the Roman church are or are not Christians. That's up to God. What I do know is that the Roman church teaches contrary to scripture. So if the new pope invites Mormons to an exclusively "Christian" prayer breakfast, I assume (a) he's doing it in the hope they will be converted to Christianity and (b) he's as confused about them as he is about the Bible

When I act and speak contrarily to Christ, then I too am not 'being' Christian. It's a struggle, ain't it?

Meade

[dgs49]

No point in continuing the discussion. There is no theological basis on which LDS can be considered a "Christian" religion. Any more than men who have their dicks surgically removed can be considered "girls."

Just because I call a "tail" a "leg" doesn't change the answer.