First up from the God Machine this week is an annual study published by Gallup, showing levels of religiosity by state. The report, released every year around this time, is a reminder that, whatever one's assumptions about faith in America -- about seven in 10 Americans consider themselves "very" or "moderately" religious -- there are still significant differences between states and regions (thanks to Kent Jones for the tip).
Looking at this map, put together by Gallup, the lighter colors show states with fewer religious residents, and the darker colors show the opposite. Overall, Vermont is easily the state with the smallest religious population, followed by New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, while Mississippi is on the opposite end of the spectrum, followed by Utah, Alabama, and Louisiana.
It's hard to miss the regional similarities. In the top 12 least religious states we see the entirety of New England, along with the three most Northwestern, Pacific-coast states (Alaska, Washington, and Oregon). Among the top 10 most religious states, nine are from the Southeast's so-called "Bible Belt," stretching from Oklahoma to North Carolina.
Though Gallup didn't mention it, there's also a political angle to this -- of the top 12 least religious states, President Obama won all of them except Alaska in 2012. Of the top 10 most religious states, Mitt Romney carried the entire list.
Also from the God Machine this week:
* This doesn't look good for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles: "Pressed to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars to settle clergy sex abuse lawsuits, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony turned to one group of Catholics whose faith could not be shaken: the dead." Apparently, Mahoney "quietly" appropriated $115 million from a cemetery maintenance fund to help pay the church's victims.
* A Republican state lawmaker in Missouri is pushing a bill that would "require that intelligent design and 'destiny' get the same educational treatment and textbook space in Missouri schools as the theory of evolution." It would also redefine words like "hypothesis" and "scientific theory" in a way Republicans find more politically convenient (thanks to reader R.P. for the tip).
* On a related note, a creationism measure pending in the Colorado state legislature was defeated this week. The proposal had been pushed by the Discovery Institute, which has spent several years crafting proposals intended to undermine belief in modern biology.
* And radical TV preacher Pat Robertson told his followers this week that Islam is not actually a religion, but rather "an economic and political system with a religious veneer."
Leave a Comment:
If you are going to make that argument, then you have to understand that the same can be said about Christianity.
Funnily enough, there are plenty of right-wing Christians (my mother, for example) who would claim that Christianity is not a religion. While the reasons are different, the intent is basically the same: to separate out Christianity (positively) and Islam (negatively) as exceptional.
And we all know who THEIR savior is...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK7gI5lMB7M
:D
ALL organized religion is political!
Funny... Bill O'Reilly also claims that Christianity is NOT a religion but a PHILOSOPHY...yeah, ok.
Any group of either 2 or more people is considered a church, if they are discussing God. If you have to pay to be so honored to attend their services, then they are a religion. We really don't need anymore religious leaders, they're stagnant, and they make u the rules as they go. It's a scam, God and his son do not need anyone intervening for them, especially if they are making up stuff that is not, in the Bible or they actually change the wording to suit their own selfish needs. When they start asking for donations to enlarge their church, look out here they come. Real people don't pay to hear them put Gods words in their mouths. Obstruction workers is what they are. Tearing away at the truth, not very good interpreters, if you ask me. And people actually pay for that hogwash.
hmmm, the crusades, the Spanish Inquisition...IRA bombers,...yeah... this guy is a blowhard...
You ever notice that as you get closer to the center of the country, the ignorance factor goes way up? Knowledge doesn't penetrate that far from the outside world.
Hey, Texas and Idaho are right on the borders - exceptions that prove the rule? :-)
Accepted.
Angel#77
I was reading your post , and agreeing , and it struck me that jesus was saying the exact same thing about the temple / synagogue2000+ years ago , amazing
we also still have the poor and crippled he told us to help , amazing part 2
Christianity is not a religion. It is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, God reaching out to mankind. Religion is a bunch of rules and rituals that people make up to get to God. Jesus had no rules except as follows: Love God. Love Others. Love Yourself. When he died on the cross he said that the Old Covenant between humans and God was finished. It was replaced by Grace, the forgiveness and love of God coming to us based not on what we do for God but on whether or not we accept that love and forgiveness. Human beings have made Christianity into religion, but there is no requirement that we follow the religious rules to be in fellowship with God through Jesus Christ.
This comes from an evangelical Christian who is a social justice liberal, meaning I believe in equal rights, grace and justice for everyone because that is what Jesus taught. Salvation comes by grace, through faith, not the result of works that anyone should boast.
Jesus had plenty of "rules". He told the adulterous woman to "go and sin no more". He also said that if people "loved" him they would "keep" his "commandments". Sounds like some rules that need to be followed to me.
Jesus never taught "equal" rights. He actually never taught "rights" at all, in reality he taught people to give up their percieved rights, and trust him, and only him. While Salvation itself does come by grace through faith, faith comes from the "hearing" of God's word. This means we follow his laws and precepts, not our own.
I refuse to believe that someone who spent his life telling people how to behave suddenly said, "hey, it doesn't matter how you behave".
It's great that you do the right thing, but it also gives too much of the "acts don't matter" crowd a license to be total @!$%#s.
And this, in a nutshell, is why it's impossible to have a conversation with Republicans, they don't base any of their decisioins on FACT or SCIENCE, but rather on their CHOICE to believe in the bible and nothing else.
Religion, all religions are based on fear and power. They are for people who are so afraid of dying, that they will cling to anything, no matter how absurd, to give them a hope of an afterlife. Everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die to get there. And, for Pastor65, don't you find it absurd that Jesus is reported to have said that the adulterous woman is"to go and sin no more"? Did he say the same for adulterous men? Using the Bible to prove God is like using a comic book to prove Superman! The Bible was not written contemporaneously with the life of Jesus and there has been numerous changes by ordinary people. There has been significant changes such as the "Old and New" Testements. The many Gospels have been reduced to just four to better control the masses with. What ever happened to the Gospel of Mary Magdelane? Oh, was she an adulterous and who was she adulterous with? Is that a picture of her to the left of Jesus in the "last Supper"?How about Thomas? To base you "faith" on something so vague and undocumented is, in my opinion, just plain stupid!
This happened the day the Pope resigned.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/11/article-2276884-17841A9A000005DC-22_634x815.jpg
My dear Bruce..It wasn't the adulterous man who was brought before Jesus. I am sure if he were, Jesus would have said the same thing. I do not need the Bible to prove God, as I know him for myself. Since there were no Cameras, It is my assumption that the picture of the "last supper", is someones rendition. There are also no portraits or pictures of Jesus, except an artists concept. What I base my faith on is neither vague nor undocumented.
Pastor 65,
How do you feel about cultural relativism? (If you don't mind my asking.)
I see it as a very corrosive force in this country, and I believe it to be antithetical to religious teachings and spirituality.
WOW they are a bunch of Godless heathens up in Vermont...Good for them! (and no I wasn't being snarky or sarcastic)
And just as an observation...
Pat Robertson doesn't actually represent a religion "but rather "an economic and political system with a religious veneer."
You caught that one did you.
If I were an Evangelical Christian, and thank God I'm not, that's one comment I would be very careful to avoid.
I have the sudden urge to move to Vermont
Actually heathens aren't godless, and they are quite religious. And no, I am not being snarky either.
I just saw that. If it wasn't so frigging cold there I'd be packing my damned bags to get the hell out of the 'bible belt'. Georgia is biblebanger heaven.
ok the "heathens" part was kinda snarky but I meant no offense to those in the "Classical" faith based community
Evadoers in the words of Nell,and yes she's still independent.
I would love to move to Vermont, for a lot of reasons, not just religious reasons. However, I have grandchildren in Iowa--home of Stevekingland. The western half of Iowa is probably as religious as Utah, except in Dutch Reformed Churches. These DutchReformed people are so strongly religious that in several small towns, they don't allow another Church to open, they make them move their Church several miles out of town. So in most of NW Iowa, especially, in these small towns, there is one church in town, and several a few miles out of town.
Absolutely about Pat Robertson. His primary goals are political, not a relationship with God.
Willow, then how did they get same sex marriage? They sound like the need to move south.
So if Christianity is not a religion, does this mean that the churches will now pay their fair share of taxes?
How refreshing to hear the truth! Thanks
I am reminded of the show "The Critic"... BUY MY BOOK! BUY MY BOOK! Fear mongering advertisement at its finest...and lowest. WTG Pat Robertson. You would think we would have gotten rid of these jerks back during the scandals of Swaggert and Baker. When America was "shocked and astonished" that men of God could be so blatantly vile and hypocritical that Genesis made a song about it.
How bout matching religiosity with each state's environmental policies? Each state's push to include creationism in the public schools? Each state's personhood efforts? Each state's reliance on federal funding? How many Medicare and social security recipients? Income inequities? Number of Walmart stores?
This religiosity map is a great find!
On another note: Pat Robertson believes in idol worship - he wants people to worship him as an idol! -Kevo
Kevo, great thought.
Attention, Steve, Kent, et al. I would love to see this religiosity map overlayed with many or all of the data mentioned in Kevo's comment! It might be very enlightening. Or it might show what so many of us already suspect.
I was thinking the same thing as I looked at the map! We live in Washington during the year and Vermont in the summer. I do not see a lack of 'spiritualism' but there is less people that go to church in the 'organized denominations'. This would be fantastic.
Which is why I refer to it below as a religiosity poll. A person can be religious (or spiritual, if you prefer) without being formally affiliated with any specific religious institution. There is a long tradition in this country of strong religious feeling being at the root of religious dissent and a refusal to express that feeling institutionally, so a poll like this is really more about the number of people who are conventionally religious than it is about the number of people who are religious full stop.
there are cultural geography books that do just that. matching, i am referring to. entire books with just maps of all types of issues.
Kevo, I strongly agree. What you are talking about sounds like data correlations through GIS (Geographic Information System) functions such as "link and relate".
I have recently discovered reasonably cheap (but restrictive) GIS software licensing that could be accessed through servers for public use. It is the expenditures in the price of existing datasets and/or the time to data mine, data capture, and create new datasets that is intimidating.
Governmental agencies have been creating comprehensive illustrative maps with geography as the index for some time, but collaborative efforts to create and analyse data relationships (or data correlations) would have to be proposed and approved as a justifiable allocation of public resources. I would think civil engineering departments may use such data relationships, but that would be at local government levels. Otherwise, we're dependent upon private market interest, and they don't have to share.
Some of the most compelling maps I have seen have come from the GIS industry itself. It is worthwhile to seek and attend one of their conferences to see new demonstration projects and applications. (I'm personally fond of ESRI.)
Informative interactive maps can be easily absorbed and impressionable on a public when considering policy issues and solutions. However, like any other information presented to the public, data integrity has to be maintained and well defined, because it can be challenged, misinterpreted, manipulated for social engineering, or civilly abused.
I love all your suggestions to show how religion and socio-political issues relate, but the one I would like to see side by side is religiousity and guns. That would be a facinating comparison.
As a matter of fact, the Atlantic map of gun violence referenced above clearly makes a correlation between this religious map and the likelihood of one experiencing gun violence. When the dumbasses are out sowing their wild oats Mon-Sat to get saved from on Sunday, there's a good likelihood of them pulling their guns out to solve whatever problem their tiny brains can't figure out otherwise.
Kevo and TC in LA
I am betting that the most "religious" states are the least charitable, the least concerned with education and the least productive. That would be the red states.
They would also be the ones most loaded with guns and NRA members.
It would be interesting to perform a hypocrisy poll. Does anyone know of any?
That is, such a poll would examine different values stating them in some a-religious fashion. Like asking whether it is an important value to help the poor, then ask some other questions that give an indication of their charitable activity, or their stands on social programs that help the poor. Then see what the statistical correlations are with various self identifications: religious or not, "fervent" or not, progressive or not, LGBT or not, "social darwinian" or not, "alternative lifestyle" or not.
They also found out, a few years ago, that churchgoers were more in favor of torture than others.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-4989944-503544.html
This map shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. The more religious a state is, the less social cohesion and the more societal decay. To put this in a greater perspective, the most religious nation on earth (to my knowledge) is Saudi Arabia, where people regularly get beheaded. The least religious nation is Sweden. Ask yourself, where would you rather live?
Fiji.
@spring erickson
the gun map isn't a perfect match because there's very high levels of ownership in alaska and the upper mountain west...although the bible belt owns a lot of guns relatively speaking
2009 map here
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BmJ0sd4XzTA/UBGlpDVugcI/AAAAAAAAACE/jE3NiGKEPZY/s1600/StateGuns.jpg
There is a big difference between spirituality and religion. Religion is the root of all evil!
I have always thought how interesting the Bible Belt correlates to the Cotton Belt. Cotton was the #1 cash crop of the Old South, which required two things: deep rich soil and slave labor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_Belt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_Belt_%28region%29
@ spring erickson [again]
here's a map of gun deaths per 100,000 and with the obvious exception of utah, high religion equals high gun death rates.
low religion regions like new england, the upper midwest and the west coast have low gun death rates.
there are a few low religion states with high guns deaths: including alaska, nevada and new mexico.
http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparemaptable.jsp?typ=3&ind=113&cat=2&sub=32&sortc=1&o=a
ps
the map i posted yesterday has the top 10 info wrong.
The more radical the zealot the more screwed up the state. It seems that way to me anyway.
The simple facts do n ot cover the whole story of course. There are religious people who refuse to accept any facts not supported by their religion. Then there are those who hold on to the basic idea of God and even the ten commandments but accept evolution,the premise of separation of church and state,modern medicine,climate change and other realities proven to exist.
Now we are hearing more crap about vouchers. Vouchers are of course code for public support of religious schools. No public funds should go to supporting any education that preaches rather than teaches.
I agree. I don't mind my property taxes going to support the public school system. If people want to provide their children with a religious education, they should pay for that education out of pocket.
When religion begins its decline in the U.S., it will not be gradual. I believe it will be a sudden and speedy paradigm shift away from religiosity. We are witnessing human evolution in real time, and at some point the stress of dragging two thousand years of dogma through the ever increasing stockpile of scientific evidence will cause a sudden and dramatic fracture in conscious awareness, and we will see the demise of religious fanatacism. We are all experiencing a literal awakening of consciousness. We will begin to see more and more examples of extreme and dramatic isolation for remaining believers, whose beliefs will be too simplistic and unexplainable to capture the imaginations of most future human beings. I give it less than 100 years.
Maybe then we can all live in peace.
I tend to think that man will always look for a God. There will always be questions we can not answer and problems we can not solve. The hope that somewhere a more perfect being exists that has the solution is comforting. Of course the first question I would have is "Where the hell were you?"
I used to accept that. Now I no longer believe that questions will go unanswered, nor problems unsolved. Our spirit and eternal self makes up a majority of our mass; comprised of that mysterious "inner being" with which we can all identify. Once we can comprehend that, life's purpose will become much clearer and our focus on future plans will become sharp and purposeful: we will begin to truly identify the heaven into which we have already been delivered, but of which we are still woefully unaware.
Rick, I think that is happening with this generation. By the time the generation X'ers are living in old folks homes, I expect this nation will be about as religious as Sweden is today.
We are extra-dimensional beings, who travel to these lower planes and attach ourselves, temporarily, to 3rd-dimensional bodies. We come into this life to learn, to grow, to improve our karma, to achieve our dharma (life goals decided on before birth).
Each life is analogous to a school year in this life. Birth is the start of the school year; death, the last day before summer vacation. During this life, we study certain subjects which we decided to study before birth. We arranged with the spirit masters, highly evolved 'angels' who understand how to select the body/parents/environment/astrological influences that will provide the optimum opportunity to 'study' the subjects we need.
Before journeying into this body, we make arrangements with friends/soulmates from previous lives. Some, we arrange to rendezvous with during this coming life, to interact with and attempt to resolve karmic issues between us. Others, we arrange to watch over us, as 'spirit guides' or 'guardian angels'. We do not enter the body until there are suffucient brain cells to act as a medium to attach the soul to.
One major mistake almost everyone makes regarding reincarnation is the assumption of linear time. The astral plane, which is the medium through which all souls travel to and from our physical bodies, does not correspond to linear time. We talk about past and future lives, but that applies only in terms of our subjective consciousness. Your most recent past life could have taken place millenia in the future; your next life could be millenia in the past. Your soul could be in kindergarten right this instant, or in the old folks' home just down the block. You might even be in another space-time continuum altogether...
Later, if anyone is interested, I'll be happy to go into what I believe to be the true nature and origins of Heaven, Hell and the Big 'G' himself...
But only if you're interested... A major tenet of my belief system is "Thou shalt not proselytize." Trying to force your beliefs on someone is like teaching a pig to sing; it's doomed to fail, and you just piss off the pig. Besides, if my belief system is correct, at some time in everyone's future, each of us will advance to the point of recognizing reality, so interfering with someone else's path inflicts bad karma to your own...
The Christian bible appears to have been obviously composed by some basically ignorant people about 2000 years ago when they thought the earth was all there was. Supposedly inspired by God but his understanding at the time seems to have been very restricted if that is true. There's no mention in the Christian Bible of atoms, galaxies, Black Holes, Dark Energy etc. The stories are ridiculous along with the idea that an omnicient All-Powerful-Being could become irritated or angery or jealous of some little human specs on a tiny world so he he seperated his great being into a son to die for their sins and so on-all incredibly silly and preposterous. Come on people! This is not to imply there isn't something incredibly profound operating invisibly behind our everyday experiences but we don't know what it is.Those who claim to know it are either lieing, mistaken, or deluded. I suspect we can get in touch with it, however, through meditation of one sort or another.
It's kind of interesting to compare the results of Gallup's religiosity-by-state poll with the results of their also-recent poll on openly-self-identifying-LGBT-people-by-state-poll, and coupling that with their poll on reasons for opposition to marriage equality. I'm certainly no expert on interpreting polling data, but it strikes me as odd that how poorly the results of these polls seem to correlate with other.
In the religiosity poll, Mississippi comes out on top as the most 'religious' state. OK, fine. Religion is the biggest factor in anti-LGBT attitudes. Also fine (as data). So, what is the state where the fewest LGBT feel free to openly identify themselves to the world? North Dakota. Really? North Dakota doesn't even fall into the top ten among most 'religious' states, yet it tops the list as the worst state in which to be openly LGBT. So, if religion is the primary excuse for hating the teh gay, what explains the lack of direct correlation between the religiosity poll and the openly-LGBT poll?
Maybe someone who understands polling can explain that to me.
To understand if there is a correlation, you have to look at the rest of the states. You can't look at just one. Six of the bottom nine that have the least admitted LGBT are also in the list of most religious states. That said, being conservative is also correlated with both being religious and being antiLGBT. So which is the cause and which is the effect may be difficult to sort out.
Re: #5
From your second link:
46 % of the adult population oppose same-sex marriage. Of those 47% cite the reason = Religion/Bible says it is wrong.
53 % of the adult population support same-sex marriage. Of those 64% cite the reason = Equal rights (32%) and Personal choice /Love, Happiness matters, not sexual orientation (32%)
I am "highly religious" and also a strong believer in marriage equality.
But if someone asked me why I support marriage equality, I would not give "Religion / Bible" as the reason. I would be in that 64%. But the reason is based on my religious beliefs - "Love your neighbor".
In other words, a poll question might be - If you consider yourself "Highly religious", how likely are you to explicitly claim your religion as the reason you hold social or political opinions.
My Holy Grail was interpreted in 1616 and there was not one word mentioned about homosexuality or lesbianism, now if your bi-sexual you have the best of both worlds.The wording was paraphrased in the 1960's and so it is quite debatable and not being the original words found in the dead sea scrolls. It was changed, God would not forsake even 1 of his children, now there's a truth. People are the ones who decided to persecute such individuals, not Jesus.
So it seems that God is what you make of him/her/it.It is interesting to note how the religious zealots have taken to discounting the dead sea scrolls and the historical account of how the Bible came about. They now want to insist the Bible comes from Greece or maybe Pluto.
My question is how can a book written by a sect that was driven out of society into the hills, then interpreted by church "scholars" and in the end spoon fed to congregations by those claiming to know the meaning behind the words -be considered Holy or the word of God?
@MeddlingMonk Looking at the top of the LGBT chart you find DC, plus 9 low religion states and South Dakota. Except for the latter there's a strong relationship.
To me the oddest thing on the whole list is the difference in ranking between the two Dakotas. Can the Reservations in SD have that much effect?
What I would like is for someone to explain to me how churches and religions in general rate a tax exempt status from the government? If any religion requires faith in their tenets, why do the rest of us have to support that? Why does the government subsidize religions? If a religion cannot be supported by their members, why should the government give them a tax exemption? Right now we are looking for cuts in our budget crises. Tax churches and religions like any other corporation ( corporations are people-SP Ct) and I imagine billions if not trillions in savings in the form of revenue! If religious organizations are protected by all means of society, then they should contribute their fair share of the costs to maintain that society. And, right now, if churches get involved with specific or partisan politics from their clergy or members in that church, then they should lose that tax exempt status right now!
Being from South Dakota, I'd like to think we are more enlightened then every other state that borders us. I myself have many friends that are LGBT (though I myself am not) and we have all had candid, frank discussions involving sexuality and gender. However, I think that in this case the real reason is more realted to sample size than any socio-politcal ideology. The Dakotas both had respondats of less than 1000. Granted from a statistical perspective that is possibly accurate (NY has 25 times the population of SD but only had 10 times the respondants). And while the sample size may be adequate from a mathematical perspective, there is a social perspective as well. Since there are very few LGBT South Dakotans to begin with (statisticaly speaking), once the question was asked it is entirely possible that a large part of the SD LGBT community knew of the poll prior to being asked. As such those people that had yet to be asked could have discussed their response prior to giving it with others in the community. South Dakota has a strong "PRIDE" network (which I for one am proud of) and this poll may well have circulated hours before it was finished. At face value, I take the poll as a point of "pride" for our state. From a realistic standpoint I think South Dakota may well have "cooked the books," (also a point of pride as we've been doing it since Mount Rushmore). If the poll is accurate and can stand on its own merits, what the heck is going on? South Dakota in the top ten on a social issue? Deer, yes. Crops, of course. Tornado instances, maybe. But social issues? I'd suggest the rest of the country look at SD and realize they are being led by a state with 3 Congressional voices (2 senators and 1 rep) and two of them are Republicans! Wake up America!
in additional religious news of possible interest to "twig" readers...[fair warning, this could take a while, so have your bottle of water handy]
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in news related to the l.a. diocese story steve posted:
Mahony is one of 11 U.S. cardinals who will vote for the next pope.
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/11/local/la-me-0212-mahony-pope-20130212
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in a followup from an item steve wrote about last week:
The president of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod apologized for his role in the “debacle” that led him to publicly reprimand a pastor in Newtown, Conn., for praying at an interfaith service following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
In a letter posted on the denomination’s website last Saturday, Harrison apologized for the “embarrassment due to the media coverage” that came with the controversy.
http://www.religionnews.com/2013/02/11/missouri-synod-president-apologizes-for-role-in-newtown-debacle/
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A small, radical group of antiabortion-rights activists remains steadfast in its support of Scott Roeder, the man convicted and jailed for the 2009 murder of abortion provider George Tiller. Roeder's relationship with activists from his jail cell has come into focus through a Department of Justice lawsuit against Angel Dillard, who is accused of sending a threatening letter in 2011 to a doctor who was training to provide abortions.
According to court documents, Dillard has visited Roeder in jail more than a dozen times and deposited $373 into his inmate fund between April 2010 and March 2012. Dillard claims her relationship with Roeder is protected by "ministerial privilege" and has refused to answer DOJ's questions about the relationship.
http://www.nationalpartnership.org/site/News2?abbr=daily4_&page=NewsArticle&id=37772&security=1521&news_iv_ctrl=-1
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Right Wing Watch reports that conservative commentator Erik Rush suspects that President Obama will work with the American Psychiatric Association to classify Christianity as a mental illness in order to take away believers' rights and detain them indefinitely.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/erik-rush-suspects-obama-will-classify-christians-mentally-ill-and-ship-them-asylum
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After the principal of Sullivan Indiana's high school, David Springer, told a local NBC affiliate that “anybody can go to the prom,” a group of students and parents banded together to push for a “traditional” prom that would prohibit their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered classmates from attending.
The students and parents created a Facebook page, called "2013 Sullivan Traditional Prom", to support their cause, but the page has been taken down. Another Facebook page, "Support the Sullivan High School Prom for All," popped up to defend the school’s LGBT students.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/02/11/indiana-high-schoolers-push-to-ban-gay-classmates-from-traditional-prom/
i checked the page on friday and it has over 27,000 likes.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-the-Sullivan-High-School-Prom-for-All-Students/611335158883992
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Taegan Goddard reported that Illinois state Sen. Kyle McCarter (R), in response to the state Senate approving same-sex marriage posted on Facebook: "To redefine marriage is discriminatory towards those who hold the sincerely held religious belief that it is a sacred institution between a man & a woman."
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2013/02/14/bonus_quote_of_the_day.html
i'll add that mccarter's facebook post is now gone, but this reaction was still live as of 10pm friday night [update: it's also been removed]: "COWARD! You took down your post highlighting your discriminatory opinions - and when your constituents posted comments you didn't agree with, your deleted those posts - and when you couldn't keep up with deleting them all - you deleted the whole post so no one could comment on it. What next? You going to shut down all comments to your PUBLIC FACEBOOK PAGE - or perhaps maybe delete your page all together?"
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Ten Republican senators are urging the Supreme Court to overturn the rulings of multiple lower courts and to uphold DOMA.
They are Mitch McConnell, KY. Lindsey Graham, SC, Mike Crapo, ID, Saxby Chambliss, GA, Thad Cochran, MS, Roger Wicker, MS, Orrin Hatch, UT, Dan Coats, IN, Charles Grassley, IA, Richard Shelby, AL.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/02/11/182704/gop-senators-to-supreme-court.html
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Blake Page, the Army cadet who left West Point just months shy of his graduation to make a high-profile protest of religious proselytizing at the school, now faces Pentagon demands that he repay the cost of his education; either through active-duty service or by paying as much as $250,000.
West Point had said that the "recoupment" of costs for his taxpayer-funded education would be waived. The Army’s move to deny the waiver, rejecting recommendations of the three-star general who runs the academy, was within its authority but unusual enough to raise eyebrows
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/14/16966278-army-wants-outspoken-west-point-cadet-to-pay-up
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The House on Wednesday voted 354-72 to approve a bill that added Houses of worship to the federal government's list of private nonprofit organizations eligible for FEMA aid to help rebuild facilities damaged by Superstorm Sandy.
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and other religious institutions deserve the same treatment as other non-profit organizations. Critics said it goes against the constitutional separation of church and state.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/13/sandy-aid_n_2679410.html
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Arsonists attacked the administrative offices of leading Israeli football club Beitar Jerusalem last Friday, just days after the club signed two Muslim players.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/08/world/meast/israel-football-arson/index.html
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A recent investigation by an independent council of Buddhist leaders has suggested that Joshu Sasaki Roshi, a leading figure in Zen Buddhism in the United States, may have sexually abused hundreds of followers for decades. According to the group's report, that abuse included allegations of molestation and rape, and some of the incidents had been reported to the Rinzai-ji board, which had taken no effective action.
The board, the council of Rinzai-ji oshos, responded with a public statement: " We fully acknowledge now, without any reservation, and with the heaviest of hearts, that because of our failure to address our teacher's sexual misconduct, women and also men have been hurt."
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/12/local/la-me-zen-master-20130213
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A conference between Pakistani and Afghan religious leaders is scheduled for next month in Kabul with the intention to provide religious support for efforts to resolve the war in Afghanistan. But the Pakistani clerics are refusing to participate unless the Taliban are included, something that would be impossible in Afghanistan.
The Pakistanis also said they were unwilling to participate in any conference if it could be seen as an endorsement of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/02/11/182700/afghan-peace-plan-in-trouble-as.html
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A new study from the Public Religion Research Institute shows that 54% say an unsatisfying sex life is a major problem for a relationship or marriage, while only 29% cited a couple’s differing religious beliefs as a major problem.
Only white evangelicals — 56% — seemed to home in on religious difference as a big relationship issue. That doesn’t mean they’re not concerned about a bad sex life — 57% see it as a major problem.
http://www.religionnews.com/2013/02/13/poll-bad-sex-a-bigger-problem-for-couples-than-religious-differences/
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and finally, a busy week for the pope...
***It was reported earlier this week that Pope Benedict XVI had heart surgery to replace his pacemaker three months ago at Rome’s Pio XI clinic. The surgery was performed by Luigi Chiariello, a cardiologist who had inserted the pope’s original pacemaker 10 years ago.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-12/pope-benedict-had-heart-surgery-three-months-ago-il-sole-says.html
***On Friday the Vatican confirmed the Pope fell and cut his head during his trip to Mexico in March of 2012. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the mishap had no impact on the the pontiff's decision to resign.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/02/14/pope-benedict-resignation-vatican/1918839/
***Pope Benedict XVI approved the appointment of German lawyer and financier, Ernst von Freyberg, as the new head of the scandal-plagued Vatican Bank. He will take on the role of president nine months after former president Ettore Gotti Tedeschi was unceremoniously ousted by the bank’s board with a no-confidence vote.
The appointment sparked controversy as von Freyberg will remain in his current role of chairman of the executive board of German shipyard Blohm + Voss, which was involved in the production of warships during the Nazi era.
http://www.religionnews.com/2013/02/15/pope-appoints-new-director-of-scandal-scarred-vatican-bank/
***Pope Benedict’s decision to live in the Vatican after he resigns will provide him with security and privacy. It will also offer legal protection from any attempt to prosecute him in connection with sexual abuse cases around the world, Church sources and legal experts say.
“His continued presence in the Vatican is necessary, otherwise he might be defenseless. He wouldn’t have his immunity, his prerogatives, his security, if he is anywhere else,” said one Vatican official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2013/02/15/ex-pope-benedict-will-have-security-and-immunity-by-remaining-in-the-vatican/
***On the day Pope Benedict resigned, lightning stuck St Peter's [photo here]:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/02/11/article-2276884-17841A9A000005DC-22_634x815.jpg
What an amazing photo! Isn't it an odd time for lightning storms in Rome?
I'm a recovering Catholic. Me and John Lennon and David Bowie can't be the only people who don't believe in religion. It might make for a small catalyst, God is not the kind you wind up on Sunday. Religion can only be used as a springboard and nothing else, an introduction to the Holy Spirit if you're lucky. Rules were made to be broken, and be replaced by a more intellectual being. Get back to where you once belonged. Heaven, I'm in heaven.
I have a little saying, "Religion is for people who don't want to go Hell. Spirituality is for people who have already been there."
Religion is a set of rules that basically says that if you follow all the rules (an impossible task) you can earn your way into Heaven.
Spirituality is a belief in a power greater than ourselves that is loving, caring, and forgiving.
I've got no use for religion. I am all about spirituality.
Pauly...
Might I recommend...
David,
Thanks. I got my view from AA. Almost 17yrs. and counting. I found a lot of people dumping "brow-beating", guilt-inducing" religion for (my words) "loving, caring, forgiving" spirituality.
Do not believe in dogma in stone and dust
From men who lived and loved in ancient lands.
Do not believe what others claim you must,
For thus you leave your future in their hands.
Do not believe in gurus or the Church,
For their beliefs are based on guilt and greed.
The mirror of your mind, you alone must search,
For you alone can shape the life you lead.
Observe, deduce and ponder what is True,
For Truth consists of that which we conceive.
Awareness comes from what is True for you,
And we can each achieve what we believe.
If your Truth can advance the paths of Man,
Then follow it and live the best you can.
Robertson reminds me that O'Reilly admitted that christianity was not a religion, but rather a philosophy.
And as Kevo mentioned, there are so many factors that can be overlaid on that map to see if they correlate. One would be whether they are on the government teat or not. Another would be their incarceration data. And divorce rate, teen age pregnancy rate, patronage of internet porn, murder rate, child abuse rate, suicide rate, poverty rate and many other indicators of social dysfunction.
dkm,#8,
The day that I look for guidance and information from Bill O'Reilly or Pat Robertson will be the day I have lost my mind.
Christianity is now and always has been a religion. To say otherwise is nonsense. I have, in college philosophy classes, studied some religious teachings such as those dealing with "first cause", but no one confused the issue. No one, including myself, would call Christianity or Islam or Judaism simply a philosophy.
Well said, India.
Thanks, Tony.
Were HITLER & HIMMLER "Good Shepherds"?
Have you every thought about this problem.
One of the strongest images and allegory's of religion is that of a shepherd and his flock: David's PSALM 23: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want...."; the Pope carrys the curved shepherd's staff (as do many other religious figures) "Thy Rod and Thy Staff" and is the Shepherd of the flock of the Catholic faithful - as is a priest, pastor, minister faith leader, etc. to the members of his congregation.
Through time that analogy has always been extreme comforting & consoling, BUT have you every really considered it's reality and potentially it's hidden meanings?
Think of a shepherd and his flock.
What happens to the lamb of a shepherd? Lamb chops, leg of lamb - what's your pleasure?
What happens to the sheep of a shepherd's flock? Wool and then mutton chops and stew.
A shepherd KILLS HIS FLOCK or SELLS THEM TO SLAUGHTER. That's what his flock exists for - a supply of wool and a supply of food - DINNER.
So a shepherd, as a normal matter of course, "betrays" and slaughters the members of his flock. The flock which that he earlier protected and cared for all lives - lives that he is directly responsible for ending.
If that is the normal, expected out come of the true relationship between and shepherd and his flock - the only purpose for their existence to begin with - what is the real and true meaning and reality behind the consistent image of a religious shepherd and the flock of his followers?
If we can find mysterious, misinterpreted and questionable (but extraordinarily rewarding both financially, in publicity, in power and in determining the nature of US support for Israel) "end of days" manipulations & meanings in books of the Bible and related writings, THEN:
What is the true and unrevealed hidden meaning of a betraying shepherd and the flock he betrays?
Are we to be delivered FROM something or TO something?? Why was the image of a betraying shepherd (a necessary means & method of physical and economic survival) and his doomed flock placed in our belief writings?
Now, will you ever look at the concept of the GOOD SHEPHERD the same way again?
There is NO "GOOD" SHEPHERD.
Please don't say "religion" when you mean "Christianity."
That comes from the old testament, when they sacrificed lambs, Jesus is a good shepherd, he doesn't sacrifice his lambs. God gave us all the animals and plants to help us survive.
USARonin...
That's the fourth time this year you've posted this to This Week In God, and this is only the seventh weekend we've had...
Can't come up with any original anti-Biblical propaganda to say?...
Facts are now propaganda, David? Well done. The kool-aide has had it's affect. For some odd reason religious themes & subjects constantly repeat (kinda like Xmas & prayer in school) - and as long as some peeps think facts are propaganda some subjects NEED to be repeated.
Besides discussing this contradiction is "original" - I haven't seen it any where else or yet talked someone in theology that had even considered it - yet it is a major enduring religious theme.
If it the discussion is wrong, dispute it with facts. If it is correct then instead of claiming "anti-biblical propaganda" explain why it has become a fundamental religious image despite the ignored contradictions.
Facts are the BEST propaganda, if the way they are looked at is skewed by the author's bias... I have read where entire reams of facts, all perfectly true, can be made to assert entirely ridiculous conclusions...
Take DHMO, for example... Every word is true... The website makes it sound like a horrendous chemical, a disastrous hazardous compound worthy of inclusion with heroin, cocaine and radioactive waste, until you realize that DHMO - Dihydrogen Monoxide - is a chemistry-related description of... water...
Besides, the use of the shepherd in religious material is as a metaphor, never as an actual profession... You might as well equate the stockyards of Chicago to Buchenwald and Auschwitz, or their gas chambers to the local butcher store...
Personally, although I would never want to kill anything or anyone, I like to eat meat.. I justify it as the fulfillment of the animal's dharma, that by my ingestion of it, it fulfills its final purpose in life... Besides, if I don't eat it, either someone else will or it will be thrown out to provide nourishment for maggots and worms...
Maybe next week the God Machine could list the number of sick people treated at religiously affiliated hospitals, the number of poor people fed by religiously affiliated charities, the number of children--mostly low income--educated by religiously affiliated schools, and the exact dollar amounts donated to charities by religious people. It would be a fascinating report.
The week after that, you can do the same thing for atheist organizations. It won't take long.
@#10, No one questions the answers to your data points; what this Saturday topic looks at is the apparent hypocrisy by those who have thrown stones at all the rest of us, believers and not, who think it's wrong to act one day on your Sabbath as your faith teaches, and to act the opposite the other days of the week. Those articles are posted to remind those of us who often feel bludgeoned by some who are self-righteous and self-serving and claim to be religious that they do NOT represent those who give generously of the time, skill, and money to those in need, nor should they be given unquestioned authority that their positions are correct and to be followed blindly.
Michaeljc4, the problem with your approach is twofold. First, atheism is not an organization. Many of us who use that designation put our charitable/volunteer work and financial donations where we feel it does the most good, and that does not include building houses of worship and paying shepherds. Imagine if all those weekly (tax deductible) offerings were actually going to serve people in need and not to support a religious organization.
Second, do you think that everyone who participates in the "religiously affiliated charities" are religious? Think again.
@ Michaeljc4
Go on Kiva.org. The atheist group has the highest level of micro-loans to poor individuals all over the world, highest amount per member, and most loans...more than any religious group on the site. Just because atheists don't often tout our generosity doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
And conservative TV preacher Pat Robertson admitted to his followers this week that Baptist is not actually a religion, but rather "an economic and political system with a religious veneer intended to make him rich and powerful."
SadOldVeteran--just to pass on a little bit of information to you--"Baptist' is not a religion. It is a denomination within the Christian religion. If you want to make jokes, maybe you should know your subject first, so that it might turn out funny. And another tidbit--there are many branches of the Baptist denomination--American Baptists, Southern Baptists, Truth missionary Baptists, just to name a few. Not all of them are in agreement on everything--some stray much more conservative, others a little more to the mainstream Christianity.
What a surprise: the states with the least educational attainment are the most religious and most conservative.
(As if everybody didn't already know that, anyway.)
Yep...Vermont is among the top ten best educated schools in the nation.
You cannot deduce from that statement that religious people are stupid. I am well educated and a practicing, believing Catholic. It is a specious argument to say that because Vermont has good schools and is not a "religious" state that only the poorly educated are religious. Know any Jesuits?
People who are anti-religion seem to like to believe that those who are religious are dolts. Why does that please them?
I believe in science, as well.
Note that I did not say stupid. That was on purpose.
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. However, on a functional and practical level, ignorance and stupidity can resemble each other. Some of the most dangerous people are those that are willfully ignorant but not congenitally stupid.
India, I'd like to get your thoughts on this. In reading Dawkins I discovered that the profession that has the most number of atheists are scientists. It doesn't seem to matter which field of science it is, but the more scientifically literate a group of people are, the less likely they are to be religious.
John Stewart Mill once said, "Conservatives aren't necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives." Surely you've noticed that most stupid people are also religious. And scientifically literate people don't tend to be stupid or religious.
Roger...
Point one... Rachel never writes the This Week In God article, people on her staff, primarily Steve Benen, does... I don't know if she has to approve the article or not, but it's best not to put Steve's words in Rachel's mouth...
Point two... This Week In God is based loosely on the This Week In God segment often featured on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, starring Stephen Colbert in his pre-Report days... Before Stephen discussed any topic, he would hit this big red button, called the God Machine, to 'select' the topic... I'm sure any reference to a God Machine here is an homage to this concept...
@Roger and David
Steve was been doing this weekly feature for seven years starting at his original site, The Carpetbagger Report
In his very first TWIG post, dated Jan 7, 2006, Steve begins "With a tip of the hat to one of my favorite features of The Daily Show, I thought I'd kick the ol' "God Machine" into gear and highlight some of the more provocative stories of the week from the world of religion."
In his second post Steve starts by writing "Last week's edition of this idea blatantly stolen ["blatantly stolen" has a line through it] inspired by The Daily Show seemed to be fairly well received, so it's back for another installment. "
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/6275.html
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/6337.html
Roger Wilko,
Funny, I just saw your comment when I got home from noon mass. Why is it hard to believe I am a practicing, believing Catholic? Because I get insulted for what I say on here? I have pretty thick skin, actually. I am well liked by people who know me personally and I am loved by my family, so who cares what strangers think?
If anything troubles me, it is the corrosive force that relativism has had on this country. It has become so pervasive, and it is all over this blog every Saturday. Odd thing about relativism is how benign it seems, how humane it sounds, how tolerant. Yet it has been the death knell for religions throughout America and perhaps the world.
I see it as a very evil influence, a malignancy. I would love a discussion on the subject.
I honestly find the idea that "everything is OK as long as it doesn't hurt anyone" a bit misleading, just for openers.
Poor roger rabbit, called out for being an ignorant liar and then trying to justify its troll position.
And we may not have any of the conservatards great orators like Rubio, Limbaugh, Ted Nugent, Beck, and mitt what's-his-name, its a wonder how Obama won the election with over 51% of the vote.
Yep, the liberals are a mess! The party is turning on itself, been reduced to shambles, is known as the party that oppresses women, hates minorities, and lives in an alternate universe. Wait...that is the GOP.
But the liberals are a mess.
Got it.
The source of the truest "Truths" are inevitably and profoundly personal.
But they cannot be found in a vacuum.
A tip of the hat to Steve Benen...
A wag of the finger to Roger Wilco...
@Roger
I wasn't asking you to.. I haven't the foggiest idea why you would think that [and Colbert has been gone from that program for years]...I just explaining the back story of Steve's "This week In God."
RogerWilco,
I have no idea who runs newsvine and have never even thought to do so! I'm not sure I'd know how to do it!
I don't know what you mean by people insulting me, liberal or conservative. What do you mean? Why are you on my case? What have I said to make you say these things?
Why do you think I'm a liberal? I'm pretty conservative about a lot of issues.
India...
Don't pay any attention to Roger Dodger... He is what is called an agent provacateur, here for one reason, and one reason only.... To cause trouble...
You know, those of us who know you, care about you... We also know, you care about us... Creatures like Roger use that, to make you doubt...
'Ignore' him...
India...
'An it harm none, do as Thou wilt' is a major tenet of the Wiccan creed... Although I am not a practicing Wiccan, this is one tenet I believe in as well... However, those who deride it fail to take two major factors into account...
'An it harm none' includes ALL manners of harm; physical, mental, psychological, spiritual, karmic or doing anything which may threaten to cause such harm...
'none' doesn't refer just to all others; it also refers to yourself... Self-destructive behaviours, such as addiction, self-mutilation, calling on dark forces within or without, and attempting suicide, either by your own hand or by others, not only cause all manners of harm, they create extremely bad karma, often resulting in what I would call a 'karmic backlash'... Negative energy and emotions beget negative energy and emotions, resulting in a downward spiral which is difficult to correct...
It's a good thing reincarnation exists... It's God's way of recycling, of making sure we have another chance to 'get it right'...
Sorry, but I don't believe the polls.
If 70%+ were actually church going folks, there wouldn't be any room in the churches.
I think what you've got is a bunch of people who feel that they are religious, but never actually go to church, which means they don't belong to a particular religion.
We're having a hard enough time in this country dealing with the 2% who are trying to tell everyone how to live.
dogjudge, you might find this helpful
npr 10/24/12
Research shows Americans overstate how often they go to church by about half.
http://www.npr.org/2012/10/24/163527979/what-we-say-about-religion-and-what-we-do
First, you are disagreeing with something the poll doesn't say. The poll recorded self-described religious belief...not church attendance.
Secondly, in the South, it's not unusual to see a small community with a population of less than five hundred that has two churches (usually Baptist and Methodist). There are a LOT Of churches here. I find an above 50% figure entirely plausible.
I'm also fascinated to see the number of commenters who are evidently not religious whose response is some variation of "Nuh uh!" It just goes to show that "religiosity" is not the only thing that can cause people to deny facts they don't like.
@SCAmis and Dogjudge
To be clear, Gallup uses frequency of church attendance as one factor in determining their religiosity numbers.
Judging from the map, religion is detrimental to both physical and economic health.
Apparently, "The LORD will provide" is not working so well.
Places I will never go: Utah, check; Mississippi, check.
Re: #15
"Go" as in "live" or "visit"?
Utah has some spectacular National Parks (Zion, Bryce and others).
Salt Lake City airport is a good option if you want to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Mississippi ............. ??............
Mississippi produced both Faulkner and Elvis. And Eudora Welty. But by all means, continue to proudly harbor your ignorance.
And let's not forget Samuel Clemens (AKA Mark Twain) and some of the most amazing Delta Blues musicians the world has ever seen!
actually, I think it's a good idea to visit places like Mississippi and Utah. If anything, you'll realize that what people say about those places, are more true than you realize.
Growing up in northern Virginia, it's a very multicultural place. It's essentially post-racist. I always heard there was more racism in the south, but by my own cultural standards, I figured this was relative. Maybe people are just more prone to own confederate flags down in the south.
Wow, was I wrong. I went to Alabama to visit a friend who had moved there, the same week Rosa Parks passed away. I was shocked to hear the young people I was hanging out with talk smack about her. My friend looked at me and shrugged and said, "sorry. it's Alabama."
I don't expect to ever see the Alamo. Texas, check.
India, I have been to the Alamo. Not really worth the effort. It's an old Spanish mission church re-made to worship the losers of the "Battle of the Alamo". When I was there, the guides shushed you if you spoke above a whisper.
They should compare this map with education levels by state...
B-b-b-b-b-b-b-ingo!
2011 Map tracking high school grads 25-64
http://www.higheredinfo.org/dbrowser/?level=nation&mode=map&state=0&submeasure=237
2011 map tracking B.A. or higher 25-64
http://www.higheredinfo.org/dbrowser/?level=nation&mode=map&state=0&submeasure=250
mouse over each state to see actual numbers
I would love to see the Gallup study to be more specific so you could see how different urban and rural areas truly are. But it's Gallup, who hasn't changed methodology in decades. *sigh*
Yes. Any polls today should be broken down by counties. Counties are the smallest fixed geographic index that can be employed as useful data towards any other analysis.
Mr Robertson needs to speak to Bill O'Reilly, Mr O'Reilly recently said that Christianity is not a religion.
I find it interesting that anyone really considers what Bill O'Reilly says can be labeled 'truth'--he only plays devil's advocate, who knows what he really believes.
All religions are the same.
It's one central person as the focus (Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, L Ron Hubbard) that is worshiped by a group of people.
The group generally preaches peace within their own circles but once on the road and outside of their zone, they try to convert you.
Each religion has extremists on both sides (some are barely into it and some are all for it) and teach the same concepts based on where they are within the zealot line.
Interesting. I was having a debate with a religious friend last night who stated that Scientology was not a religion based on the "crazy" things they believe in. It amazed how one can hold up different standards of two things based on which one they believe. As if Scientology is any more singularly a "crazy" story than the proposed events of the Bible in Christianity each includes a necessity to believe in incredibly improbable things.
In response to Mr. Robertson's comment: I am wondering how many Islamic televangelists there are? How many tent revivals are scheduled for Islam and how many "special" offerings are collected during mosque services? I am not Muslim, nor am I what passes for Christian today, so it seems to me that if Mr. Robertson is serious, its a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Compare the religious map to the Gun Violence map...
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/01/the-geography-of-gun-deaths/69354/
This is not in any way surprising to me...(as I am a Big Blue Dot Y'all in Tennessee) but which of the two (least and most religious) demos is growing & which is shrinking. Say hello to the future. http://kchapmangibbons.wordpress.com/
Has Pat Robertson EVER said anything that isn't a lie?
"Just remember... It's not a lie, if YOU believe it..." - George Costanza
Hello David,
It's safe to say Robertson believes his lies. I think he went over the moon decades ago.
BTW Downton Abbey is on tonight, the last one.
I looked for you the other day when I messed up my French again!
Compare Religious map with Gun Violence map...
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/01/the-geography-of-gun-deaths/69354/
Also interestingly, there is a similar correlation in consumption of pornography. I live in the San Fernando Valley, the "Hollywood of Porn"; a guy I knew who worked in the biz once told me that the girls most likely to come to Los Angeles and get into the porn business were from (1) Oklahoma, (2) Texas (3) Mississippi (given that there has been a study made of porn actors and child abuse, this is not suprising). There is also a study of hotels that show that the greatest use of the pornography channels are when there are either conservative political meetings or conservative religious meetings at the hotel (with the average time of use being under six minutes - no wonder so many fundamentalist women walk around with that unsatisfied look).
Re: #25
I compared the 2 maps and don't think there is as much correlation as you seem to imply. For example - look at Nevada vs Utah (Utah higher religion lower gun deaths)
BTW - why is the number of gun deaths so low in Iowa vs surrounding states?
In the article you linked to there is an interesting chart
Note that "Religion" is not listed as a factor. Something to remember - "Correlation does not imply causation".
Sam Wang came up with a simpler correlation...with very few exceptions, the higher the percentage of a state's population that owns guns, the higher the number of gun deaths per 100,000 population.
chart:
http://election.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/gun_ownership_deaths_500px.jpg
article:
http://election.princeton.edu/2012/12/22/scientific-americans-gun-error/
@Maphi
For example - look at Nevada vs Utah (Utah higher religion lower gun deaths)
Utah is often an outlier among red states, due to its high Mormon population.
For example, it's the only state on this top 10 list that isn't in the top 10 for obesity, smoking, cancer, and diabetes.
It's also the only state where college grads are more likely to vote Republican than non-grads by a significant amount.