Arizona: How much church attendance? (Phoenix, Scottsdale: transplants, 2014, schools)

[Arizona Mike]

Per Gallup, we are "average" compared to other states - not as much as Utah (at the top) nor as low as most of the New England states.

33% of Arizonans say they attend religious services weekly, 18% monthly, 48% seldom or never, and 1% who don't know

Frequent Church Attendance Highest in Utah, Lowest in Vermont

Even the highest state is just 1% over half...

HIGHEST CHURCH ATTENDANCE
Utah - 51%
Mississippi - 47%
Alabama - 46%
Louisiana - 46%
Arkansas - 45%
South Carolina - 42%
Tennessee - 42%
Kentucky - 41%
North Carolina - 40%
Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma (tie) - 39%

LOWEST CHURCH ATTENDANCE
Vermont - 17%
New Hampshire - 20%
Maine - 20%
Massachusetts - 22%
Washington - 24%
Oregon- 24%
Hawaii - 25%
Colorado - 25%
Connecticut - 25%
Alaska - 26%

After viewing this compilation of the closest calls that people survived in 2014, it might be worthwhile to check in at your place of worship of choice occasionally...


Moderator cut: Sorry, the youtube video you posted in this post has nothing to do with your subject. Nothing to do with Arizona. Looks like it was all filmed overseas. So I edited it out.

[ShampooBanana]

All the highest church attendance states are Red States, and almost all the lowest are blue states. Interestingly (to me, at least), all the highest church attendance states are ones I'd never choose to live in, while I could live in many of the lowest.

Not sure what the video has to do with anything, though.

[DetroitN8V]

The video and the assertion that we should all "check into our place of worship" is absurd, as if those people are all church goers and that's why they didn't die?

You couldn't pay me enough to move to one of those churchy states. I prefer to be among those that think for themselves.

[saffordpastor]

I like living in a less churchgoing area....more folks needing a church and more opportunity for me to help them.

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by ShampooBanana

All the highest church attendance states are Red States, and almost all the lowest are blue states. Interestingly (to me, at least), all the highest church attendance states are ones I'd never choose to live in, while I could live in many of the lowest.

Well-written.

Political leanings obviously make up a large part of church attendance, but it's how rural or urban the state tends to be too.

Look at the list of states with high church attendance, most of them are rural, backward, and poor.

Many of them were segregated as recently as 40-50 years ago, and many of them still have laws restricting personal freedom to this day.

They certainly aren't the states I'd choose to live, Arizona is conservative enough for me.

[PallasAthena_79]

Religion is the cause of all the turmoil in the world. We'd all be better off without churches living as open minded free thinkers. This is true freedom.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

I really don't need church to genuinely feel gratitude. The blue skies, balmy sunshine, open horizons, and miraculous landscapes make me feel happy to be alive everyday. Hiking the rugged landscapes and seeing desert sunsets make me feel more alive and grateful than any religious service ever could.

[8to32characters]

Most of the churchgoing individuals I met while living in the Phoenix area were transplants from the Midwest, specifically more conservative "Lower Midwestern" states like Kansas, Missouri, and Indiana, or were Mormon.

Although I didn't meet very many Southern transplants in Arizona, it seemed like the few I did meet moved to Arizona to get away from the fervently religious atmosphere of South while still residing in a state that embodied conservative political values. This was particularly evident among Southern transplants who were not from the South originally.

Outside of the working-class inner-suburban Catholic and Jewish communities, a lot of people from the Northeast aren't all that religious, either. However, Arizona doesn't tend to attract very many working-class "Nor'easters" as opposed to, say, Florida or even Nevada. Most Northeastern transplants I met in Arizona were from northern and western New England, which is significantly less religious than other parts of the Northeast, and were higher income. Besides, most religious Nor'easters have their pick of just about any Southeastern state, if they desire that type of atmosphere -- no reason to move "all the way" to Arizona, unless they were a desert enthusiast or something.

Most of the native Arizonans I met while living in the Phoenix area, save those who were Mormon or Mexican-American, were among the most irreligious, least "Bible-minded" folks I've ever met -- anywhere. Unless these natives attended religious services while growing up and/or attended religiously affiliated schools, they didn't know the first thing about Christianity, the Bible, etc., probably because the history and culture of Arizona have few, if any, religious undertones and religious topics are not part of the local vernacular. A recent Gallup poll validated my personal experience by ranking Phoenix-Scottsdale as one of the least "Bible-minded" metro areas in the country.

I think the culture of the Phoenix area -- and Arizona in general, for that matter -- neither breeds nor attracts religious individuals. The emphasis on libertarianism, rugged individualism, free thought, and creative-mindedness in addition to the general lack of a community-oriented focus and low social capital just don't mesh well with religion, resulting in generally lower levels church adherence and attendance compared to other areas of the country such as the Deep South and Lower Midwest.

[Poncho_NM]

Originally Posted by ShampooBanana

Not sure what the video has to do with anything, though.

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

The video and the assertion that we should all "check into our place of worship" is absurd,

The video has been removed.

[Annilyna]

Originally Posted by ShampooBanana

Interestingly (to me, at least), all the highest church attendance states are ones I'd never choose to live in, while I could live in many of the lowest.
.

Ditto! Though I'm in the process of moving out from Arizona to Oregon. Oregon's percentage still seems quite high to me.