Region and Religion in the U.S.
I’ve been thinking about region and religion a lot recently while re-reading Flannery O’Connor and Lee Smith, but I usually do my thinking in literary or experiential, rather than statistical, terms.
Then this morning Porpoise saw a blog post mentioning a site of maps plotting concentrations of U.S. religious affiliation, based on 2000 census data. Hurrah for maps, or “boo-boos,” as my family inexplicably calls them.
Some of the data is just what you would expect: “Oh, look–there are huge numbers of Baptists below the Mason-Dixon line and hardly any above it” and “Utah sure is Mormon, isn’t it?” But there are also some twists I’d like to know more about: why, for example, are there higher concentrations of Episcopalians in South Dakota and Alaska than anywhere else? I hardly think of these states as “smells-and-bells” territory.
Given that I just finished a novel featuring snake-handlers (Lee Smith’s Saving Grace), I was interested to see that Pentecostals are pretty evenly distributed across the U.S. now, not just concentrated in the rural South.
A bit of explanation may be helpful for readers unfamiliar with denominational distinctions: the map categories include the label “Christian,” which in this case refers not to all Christian denominations, but rather to Christian denominations of the Restoration tradition (Disciples of Christ, Independent Christian Church, and Church of Christ). It would have been helpful if the map had used the label “Restoration Christian” rather than just simply “Christian.” Even better would be a division of the Restoration tradition into its different branches, since their theologies are very different from each other now. But Porpoise suggests that the maps are meant to reflect historical trends more than theological distinctions. The Restoration movement started in Kentucky, so it makes sense that most Restorationists are in the Mid-South and the Midwest.
Thanks to the blog Regions of Mind for drawing our attention to the maps!
Add comment April 12th, 2006