# Religion Demographics **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 26, 2007, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282 "2007-07-26T20:20:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/1 "2007-07-26T20:20:21Z")
What is the majority religion in your country (or, for American Dopers, your part of the U.S)? How practicing are the people? Anything else there is to throw in, that’s OK too. My part of the U.S., Montgomery County, Maryland (D.C. metro), seems to be home to a number of Catholics. Many are quite practicing, at least in my town. I’m Catholic, too. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/2 "2007-07-26T20:24:36Z")
I’m in North Carolina. I would say people are very religious here, just going by the number of churches. Certainly there is more religion here than there was in Washington State, where I moved from. There are lots and lots of Baptists. I myself am a Methodist, and I’m a crazy-liberal Methodist by Southern standards. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/3 "2007-07-26T20:33:49Z")
It’s a pretty mixed bag of various sorts of Christians. There doesn’t seem to be a huge preponderance of any one type. We also have plenty of people who don’t go to church at all, two small Jewish congregations, a large number of Hmong who stick with their traditions, and a few scatterings of everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/4 "2007-07-26T20:35:53Z")
Live in Denver, but I work in Ciolorado Springs. You can’t swing a cat around here without hitting an Evangelical Christian, and I know because I’ve tried. ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/5 "2007-07-26T20:59:21Z")
I am in Middle TN. This being the Bible Belt and all, obviously, the majority is Christian. In this particular area, Baptist is the ruling sect. Oddly enough, while there is not a very large Catholic population, there is a very large Catholic High School near me. I swear the high school is 3 times the size of all 3 of the Catholic churches of which I am aware in the county _put together_. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/6 "2007-07-26T21:10:03Z")
Southeast Coastal Maine (York County)… Predominantly Christian of varying denominations, closely followed by Judaism personally, the family is Protestant, and I’m Athiest pretty wide range ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/7 "2007-07-26T21:13:29Z")
Rhode Island is over 60% Catholic by last count. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/8 "2007-07-26T22:02:39Z")
When I was in the Savannah, Georgia area, I only saw Baptist Churches. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/9 "2007-07-26T23:44:34Z")
**Litoris** - According to the Diocesan website, there are over 70,000 Catholics in the Nashville Diocese, which is most of Middle Tennessee, so that’s a lot of kids. Also, there are a number of people who send their kids to Catholic schools because they think they’re safer, and the children will get a better education. In one report I read, the kids in Nashville Catholic schools test about two grades over the Nashville public school system kids. Are you by JPII or Fr. Ryan? StG - Catholic ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/10 "2007-07-27T00:39:17Z")
[QUOTE StGermain] there are over 70,000 Catholics in the Nashville Diocese [QUOTE] Is that a large number for the South? What are the most Catholic areas of the South? Louisiana? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/11 "2007-07-27T00:57:35Z")
Dallas, like many Southern cities, is the “buckle of the Bible Belt.” I’d say it is dominated by Baptists and non-denominational mega churches. The TBN, Trinity Broadcast Network, is headquartered here. Oddly enough, my ultra-liberal gay mega church (United Church of Christ) is also here! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/12 "2007-07-27T01:19:27Z")
Calvinists make up the vast majority of locals by me. The 9 nearest churches are all Calvinist, and the next two are of some sort of conservative Baptist arrangement. And that’s all within about a 7 mile radius of me. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/13 "2007-07-27T01:23:27Z")
**Captain Socks** - I’m not a native Southerner, and Nashville is the only Southern city I’l lived in, so I can’t say if it’s a lot or not. Catholics are a definite minority here. StG ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/14 "2007-07-27T01:29:07Z")
No surprise here in Utah. From Wikipedia: ``` * Latter-day Saints - 62% * Roman Catholics - 6% * Episcopalians - 3% * Baptists - 2% * Other Christians - 3% * Evangelicals - 1% * Presbyterians - 1% * Lutherans - 1% * Methodists - 1% * Non-religious - 17% * Refused to identify - 4% * Other - 3% * Muslim - 1% ``` Totals are rounded. Pentecostal, Judaism, Church of Christ, Non-denominational, United Church of Christ, Jehovah’s Witness, Assemblies of God, Buddhist, Church of God, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church each represent less than .5% of the population. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/15 "2007-07-27T01:57:29Z")
Here in Westchester (north of NY), if you’re white and working/lower middle class, you’re pretty much Catholic or nothing. Upper middle and richies can be anything (or nothing), but Catholics and Jews seem to have the highest public profiles. Few wedding or death announcements in the _Journal News_ are for any other denomination, most of the rest being historically Black churches. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/16 "2007-07-27T02:07:32Z")
Minnesota has lots of Lutherans. ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/17 "2007-07-27T02:09:25Z")
[QUOTE=StGermain] **Litoris** - According to the Diocesan website, there are over 70,000 Catholics in the Nashville Diocese, which is most of Middle Tennessee, so that’s a lot of kids. Also, there are a number of people who send their kids to Catholic schools because they think they’re safer, and the children will get a better education. In one report I read, the kids in Nashville Catholic schools test about two grades over the Nashville public school system kids. Are you by JPII or Fr. Ryan? StG - Catholic [/QUOTE] That number doesn’t surprise me for the whole diocese, but for JPII (where I am near) to be as huge as it is…just Wow, ya know? I grew up in Gallatin, and that Catholic church is smaller than the Mormon church I went to as a kid. I never imagined that people would think Catholic schools are safer than public, but then I grew up listening to the Jim Carroll Band and knew guys in other (more predominantly Catholic areas) who were forced to have naked swim team by their pedophile Catholic school teachers. Never quite saw the Catholic schools through rosy glasses – although I would think that in this area they probably do rank quite high. One of my good friends went to Father Ryan in order to have a better shot at Notre Dame. ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/18 "2007-07-27T02:12:16Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Socks] [QUOTE StGermain] there are over 70,000 Catholics in the Nashville Diocese > [@](#): > > Is that a large number for the South? What are the most Catholic areas of the South? Louisiana? Having grown up and lived in the South most of my life, I would say the largest Catholic population would be in LA. Let’s just say that I wouldn’t be surprised to find out we have more Jewish people around here than Catholics. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/19 "2007-07-27T04:54:50Z")
Approximately six miles down the road from Father Ryan in Nashville is the Southern Baptist Convention – the Center for all Southern Baptists in the cosmos. I would think there are a lot of Baptists in Nashville, certainly. But Nashville is rather ecumenical. We have a little bit of everything including a huge temple of Athena. (Okay, we call it the Parthenon.) I think there are a lot of church-goers and a lot of churches to hold them. Churches are everywhere. There is one across the street from me. Two denominations – United Methodists and Southern Baptists – use Nashville as their publishing centers. Yet somehow, we manage to vote liberal in elections in general. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282/20 "2007-07-27T05:29:06Z")
**Litoris** - I don’t know about Mormon temples, but there tend to be quite a lot of smaller Catholic churches around, to make up the whole. And you’ve got to figure most of the Catholics in the Middle TN area are probably in Rutherford and Williamson County, I bet. Although I’m in Murfreesboro, and St. Rose parish has something like 2000 families. The churches themselves don’t look like Protestant mega churches, maybe because they’re usually be a variety of Mass times, so people don’t all attend at the same Mass. At St. Rose there are 5 Masses every weekend. Are you coming to the thing on the 18th? StG [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-demographics/413282.md?page=2)