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Most states in the US have a Christian majority, but Oregon, Washington, and Alaska are mostly non-believing. Even Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are far less religious than average for the country.
Why do you think this is? Why is the PNW an atheist bastion in a predominately Christian country?
A healthy level of skepticism leads to questioning the validity of religion (which to a skeptic is nothing more than a fable.) A high portion of the population being fairly well-educated unsurprisingly leads to a lot less "believers". I also believe that within the next 50 years, a very large portion of the population (or at least on the West Coast) will be agnostic /atheist.
It's kind of funny. Here in Seattle, I actually don't know anybody who believes in religion, and certainly not anybody under the age of 30.
A healthy level of skepticism leads to questioning the validity of religion (which to a skeptic is nothing more than a fable.) A high portion of the population being fairly well-educated unsurprisingly leads to a lot less "believers". I also believe that within the next 50 years, a very large portion of the population (or at least on the West Coast) will be agnostic /atheist.
It's kind of funny. Here in Seattle, I actually don't know anybody who believes in religion, and certainly not anybody under the age of 30.
Don't California and Oregon rank quite low on education though? I'm not sure about Washington. I agree with the rest of what you said, though. I would already say that at least 60 percent of the people on the West Coast born after 1980 are agnostics or atheists.
1) People are attracted toward people who are like them. Christians like to live near other Christians, Jews near other Jews, Muslims by other Muslims, Buddhists with other Buddhists and so on, in general. This is true of all cultural differences. This means that if the PNW started out with marginally more non-believers, this number would likely grow over time.
2) Non-believers tend to be socially liberal, therefore, given what I said in point 1, they would be attracted to areas of the country that are socially liberal and non-traditional. The PNW is probably the most socially liberal part of the country. Non-believers living non-tradtional lifestyles would be drawn to areas with lots of social freedoms and acceptance.
3) People are social animals that mimic those around them, especially if they admire them.
4) In many highly religious areas, churches are often social experiences. So even though people may not believe, they may still attend church for the social aspect.
5) People in highly religious regions of the country may be ostracized for being a non-believer and vice versa for religious people in secular areas. Therefore, this skews statistics and perception because people don't "come out" as their true selves.
I honestly have no idea and that's a good question. The west coast has better education and even areas like Idaho and Montana have better education than the South. Southern politicians spent centuries playing the white people off the black people and thumping the Bible to keep them in line so they could continue their crooked politics.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mini-apple-less
Don't California and Oregon rank quite low on education though? I'm not sure about Washington. I agree with the rest of what you said, though. I would already say that at least 60 percent of the people on the West Coast born after 1980 are agnostics or atheists.
No, not at all compared to religious states in the South? You really think Silicon Valley is uneducated?
I live in the Seattle suburbs and I see lots of churches and Christian people. Many of them are more liberal types of Christians. Christians dominate the US, even the less religious areas.
While the PNW is definitely less religious than the nation as a whole, a majority of people in Oregon and Washington state still consider themselves either "moderately" or "very" religious:
The only two states where a majority of people identify as "non-religious" are actually Vermont and New Hampshire--and even there, you find at least 4 in 10 people identifying as "moderately" or "very" religious.
And non-religious doesn't mean "atheist". Atheism is denial of any higher power. That's very different from simply being non-religious, or agnostic.
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