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Old 06-24-2016, 04:05 PM
 
Location: Near Manito
20,170 posts, read 24,246,106 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadoAngel View Post

In my personal experience, that doesn't mean that the population is dominated by atheists or agnostics, just that organized religious services don't play as large of a role in the culture and every day life - when compared to most other places in the US. Another aspect that moderates religion in the state is a wide mix of religious sects. In that same article I linked to, you can see that Washington and most of the west has a high degree of 'religious diversity' - meaning that there is a wider variety of faiths and denominations represented when compared to other areas like Utah dominated by LDS) or the Midwest/South where Protestantism - especially certain sects (Lutheranism in the Upper Midwest, Southern Baptist in the South) - is the overwhelming majority.
I feel compelled to observe that the 70-80% of the population west of the Cascades -- particularly the Seattle metro area (and a substantial proportion of metro Spokane), while definitely not "churched" (and in fact deeply contemptuous of Christians) -- remain almost religiously obeisant to their extreme left-wing political views. The irony of self-described proponents of "progressive" tolerance engaging in vituperative hatred toward anyone diverging from their political orthodoxy is almost too obvious to revisit. I mention it here only to draw attention to the uncanny resemblance of left-wing political extremism to religious fanaticism, and to remind all of us of its thriving existence in the bluer portions of this deeply blue state.

Last edited by Yeledaf; 06-24-2016 at 05:16 PM..
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Old 06-24-2016, 04:12 PM
509
 
6,303 posts, read 6,951,163 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PS90 View Post
I guess I don't see your point.

What defines "urban" vs. "rural"? You are clearly citing some kind of government designation for your comment above. Yet Eastern Washington has much less people, much more agriculture, much less infrastructure (no ferries, no expensive bridges or tunnels), etc.

It may be true under some arbitrary bureaucratic designation that Eastern Washington somehow has more urban areas than Western Washington, but in reality, that doesn't mean a whole lot considering how much LESS people live on the Eastern side.............................................. .................................................. ..................................
The US Census Bureau is the official keeper of those types of statistics.

It is an arbitrary bureaucratic designation but it makes a huge difference in Federal government funding programs and their availability. Also growth management and planning requirements are different for areas depending on their designation.

Businesses use these designations to decide on citing new stores, etc.

It does mean a "whole lot".
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Old 06-24-2016, 09:13 PM
 
Location: Washington State. Not Seattle.
2,251 posts, read 3,250,187 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 509 View Post
The US Census Bureau is the official keeper of those types of statistics.

It is an arbitrary bureaucratic designation but it makes a huge difference in Federal government funding programs and their availability. Also growth management and planning requirements are different for areas depending on their designation.

Businesses use these designations to decide on citing new stores, etc.

It does mean a "whole lot".
It means a "whole lot" to government entities maybe, but not to "real people" like the one you were replying to.
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Old 06-24-2016, 09:14 PM
 
Location: Washington State. Not Seattle.
2,251 posts, read 3,250,187 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yeledaf View Post
I feel compelled to observe that the 70-80% of the population west of the Cascades -- particularly the Seattle metro area (and a substantial proportion of metro Spokane), while definitely not "churched" (and in fact deeply contemptuous of Christians) -- remain almost religiously obeisant to their extreme left-wing political views. The irony of self-described proponents of "progressive" tolerance engaging in vituperative hatred toward anyone diverging from their political orthodoxy is almost too obvious to revisit. I mention it here only to draw attention to the uncanny resemblance of left-wing political extremism to religious fanaticism, and to remind all of us of its thriving existence in the bluer portions of this deeply blue state.
This is just awesome.
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Old 06-25-2016, 12:40 PM
 
448 posts, read 805,567 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 509 View Post
Pretty good write up....except. Eastern Washington is 25% of the states population and has been that way for years.
From 2015 census estimates, the population of Washington was 7,170,351. The population for the eastern counties was 1,516,781 (assuming I did the math right.) That's 21.15%. Roughly, 1 in 5 Washingtonians lives east of the Cascades. The other 4 live west.

Quote:
The eastern part of Washington "is largely rural". That is incorrect. Eastern Washington is just slightly more urban than western Washington!! By a few tenths of a percent, but it is still more urban than western Washington.
In a government defined statistical sense, you are probably correct. But not in a cultural/societal definition of the terms, which was the context of the conversation and my comment - politics and culture. Anyone living in a town larger than 2,500 with sufficient density can be classified as living an urban area or urban cluster.

Perfect example: Moses Lake, WA is a designated urban cluster. A town of little over 20,000 people. The census is going to classify the vast majority of that population as 'urban'. Yet if you were to ask someone on this forum that wanted an 'urban lifestyle' and you suggested moving to Moses Lake - everyone would think you're crazy. The culture and lifestyle in small cities and rural areas is very different from larger urban areas. Outside of Spokane, Yakima, and the Tri-Cities there isn't a single town over 50,000 people in the entire eastern two-thirds of the state.

Aaaaalso... I was really talking about the square miles in my original comment - not population totals, as I was explaining a map which shows Washington as being mostly Republican by land area, yet having a state reputation for voting Democrat... because 4 out of 5 people live in the blue counties. Hence, the reputation.
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Old 06-25-2016, 12:42 PM
 
448 posts, read 805,567 times
Reputation: 807
Quote:
I feel compelled to observe that the 70-80% of the population west of the Cascades -- particularly the Seattle metro area (and a substantial proportion of metro Spokane), while definitely not "churched" (and in fact deeply contemptuous of Christians) -- remain almost religiously obeisant to their extreme left-wing political views. The irony of self-described proponents of "progressive" tolerance engaging in vituperative hatred toward anyone diverging from their political orthodoxy is almost too obvious to revisit. I mention it here only to draw attention to the uncanny resemblance of left-wing political extremism to religious fanaticism, and to remind all of us of its thriving existence in the bluer portions of this deeply blue state.
This is a fair point. But if anything, to define leftism as a religion would only increase Washington's religious diversity!
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Old 06-27-2016, 08:10 AM
 
Location: Washington State. Not Seattle.
2,251 posts, read 3,250,187 times
Reputation: 3479
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadoAngel View Post
Aaaaalso... I was really talking about the square miles in my original comment - not population totals, as I was explaining a map which shows Washington as being mostly Republican by land area, yet having a state reputation for voting Democrat... because 4 out of 5 people live in the blue counties. Hence, the reputation.
I completely agree with you. The liberals will love to point out that Washington is a blue state because most of the population is democratic, and people makes votes, not land area.

But I find it hard to call this state a "blue state", when you can road-trip through 95% of the state and rarely meet a liberal.
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