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New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island seem to be the most Catholic on that map. Of those New Jersey was the only one with a majority of people listing religion as "very important."
Two plurality Catholic states that came out fairly high on church attendance, of overall population, and importance of religion were Nebraska and Illinois. As "Bible Belt" usually implies active religiosity, rather than just being Protestant, maybe the Plains or Southwest is more of a Catholic "Bible Belt" with parts of New Jersey maybe being close too.
Don't forget California, along with Nebraska and Illinois as one of the most Catholic states in the U.S. In the South you have Texas, Louisiana and Florida at between 20-30%, and Virginia, Kentucky and Georgia at nearly 20% each.
I don't really see a consistent "Catholic Belt" formation outside of a small one in the Northeast.
Interesting map! What data did you use to make it (or is it impressionistic, which is fine with me). I'd extend the Western boundary up through the Mississippi River Valley to the Twin Cities. LaCrosse, WI and Winona, MN are heavily Catholic, as is the surrounding countryside. The Twin Cities have a huge Catholic population, too.
I don't know...you're starting to butt up against the Lutheran Belt there...
Some people have mentioned Louisiana, but it's really the whole Gulf Coast- Texas, LA, AL (Mobile), FL (Pensacola). It is because of our French influence.
Don't forget California, along with Nebraska and Illinois as one of the most Catholic states in the U.S. In the South you have Texas, Louisiana and Florida at between 20-30%, and Virginia, Kentucky and Georgia at nearly 20% each.
I don't really see a consistent "Catholic Belt" formation outside of a small one in the Northeast.
I didn't realize that Georgia ranked so high in terms of a Catholic population. Interesting!
So far as the other states in the South go, I think only Louisiana has a truly historically established and "committed" anglo Catholic population. The others are mainly the result of hispanic and/or northern (im)migration over the years.
Texas, of course, is a bit different as well. There were the German Catholic communities and, compared to the rest of the South, there was always a relatively large hispanic population. And yes, when Mexico opened up what is now the State of Texas to settlement, it was a "requirement" for citizenship that the settlers must become Catholics. However, this was never really enforced. To get their free 640 acres of land (or whatever it was), most of those anglo settlers/adventurers from the (mostly) Southern United States had no problem nominally converting to Catholisim. But that was all it was. Nominal, and a big joke to boot.
This farce sorta skewed the figures when it comes to historic Catholic Church membership in Texas. That is to say, while numerically speaking, the Catholics dominated in the pre-statehood days, it was extremely superficial in terms of actual practice.
After the Texas Revolution, the numbers of Catholic churches diminished considerably, as many Mexican residents left the state. The "established" churches in Texas -- reflecting settlement patterns -- became ovewhelmingly Southern Protestant, with the Southern Baptists (when formed) the vast majority. It has only been comparitively recently, that Catholics are -- once again -- growing in Texas so far as true church membership and attendence are concerned.
Some people have mentioned Louisiana, but it's really the whole Gulf Coast- Texas, LA, AL (Mobile), FL (Pensacola). It is because of our French influence.
...and Florida, because of the hispanic influence.
So far as the other states in the South go, I think only Louisiana has a truly historically established and "committed" anglo Catholic population. The others are mainly the result of hispanic and/or northern (im)migration over the years.
Mobile is predominately Catholic because we were a French settlement, not because of Hispanic/northern immigration. We were the first capital of the French colony of Louisiana, and we are older than New Orleans.
I didn't realize that Georgia ranked so high in terms of a Catholic population. Interesting!
Georgia was founded and settled by British Protestants in the Savannah area...but prior to that there were several Catholic Spanish Missions in the area that attempted to convert Native Americans. Following the Revolutionary War there was an influx of French, Haitian and Irish Catholic settlers in Savannah, but today the largest concentration of Georgia Catholics is in the Atlanta area.
An instrument of measurement. Or an instrument of harsh punishment?
Oh yes I remember that! I went to parochial school during the 60s in suburban Philadelphia which is heavily Catholic. I only got my knuckles nailed once by a ruler and the perp was my fifth grade nun who was about 80 years old ,4'8" tall and weighed about 80lbs. and she was meaner than a angry ,hungry crocodile - all because she didn't like the way my math quiz paper was underlined! On the more serious side, as that map shows there is a thin panhandle in western Ohio . Dayton and Cincinnati both have significant Catholic populations.
I'm not sure i agree with the first Catholic map. The entire Midwest is pretty Catholic. St. Louis is definitely a very Catholic city. The Catholic belt is not anywhere near as clear cut as the Bible Belt, which itself isn't that clear cut. New Orleans is a very Catholic city. The Catholic belt and the Bible Belt seem to meet and converge in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. In these states, both high percentages of Catholics and Baptists exist.
Mobile is predominately Catholic because we were a French settlement, not because of Hispanic/northern immigration. We were the first capital of the French colony of Louisiana, and we are older than New Orleans.
I didn't know that either. Thanks for the interesting info! I did neglect to mention earlier that yes, you are right, about that the French-Catholic influence extends all along many parts of the Southern Gulf Coast.
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