As guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution, the United States government was founded on the principle of separation of church and state. The First Amendment also protects the individual’s right to practice the religion of their choice. Partially because of that guarantee, organized religion is an integral part of American identity and culture — in some parts of the country more than others.
Participation in organized religion varies considerably across the United States. In Maine, just 27.6% of the population regularly attends worship services. Meanwhile, in Utah 79.1% of the population does. Even within states, residents of some areas are far more likely to attend religious services than others.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed the number of Americans worshipping in every county as a percentage of the county’s total population to identify the most religious county in every state. Every state is home to at least one county where the number of religious adherents is equal to at least 45% of the overall population. In all but five counties on this list, religious service attendees number more than half the county’s population.
Click here to see the most religious county in every state.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.
Source: jccal.org
1. Jefferson County, Alabama
> Religious service attendance: 83.9.% of county pop.
> Religious service attendance: 62.9% of state pop. (3rd highest)co
> Congregations in county: 18 per 10,000 people
> Congregations in state: 22 per 10,000 people (4th highest)
See all stories featuring: Alabama
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