Religion in Northern Virginia (Arlington, Annandale: high school, to live in, restaurants)

[MrJester]

What is the plurality religion in NOVA? I know it is a very liberal area, and thus supposedly would be secular/nonreligious. However, I'd also expect a lot of mainline, liberal churches, Reform Jews, and Muslims.

Of course, there'd probably be a good deal of conservative Evangelicals (after all, it's technically, though not culturally, in The South and the South is dominated by Southern Baptists).

I have never been to NOVA myself, just wondering because my friend (we're from the Los Angeles area) and her entire family grew up (and still is) Catholic, except for her sister, who converted to become an Evangelical Presbyterian. Her sister now lives in NOVA. I asked her why her sister became an Evangelical. She said that actually, Catholics and Evangelicals believe in "pretty much the same thing" and that there aren't very many Catholic churches in NOVA so her sister's only option is to go to a Protestant church.

So, is it true that there aren't a lot of Catholic churches in NOVA, or does my friend just not have a clue about religion?

[oneasterisk]

I've lived in Prince William county since 1989 and I've gone to 6 different Catholic churches in the county. There are plenty of options if she's willing to put in a little effort of googling.

[Bigfoot424]

I've never felt the need to count but I know I've seen quite a few Catholic churches in the NOVA area.

[ChristineVA]

There are PLENTY of Catholic churches in NOVA. Plenty. I don't think they are quite as prevalent as in Maryland, but close enough.

While I am not Catholic, most of my friends are and I think they would disagree with being compared to Evangelicals. I think their similarities end with just being Christian.

[robbobobbo]

This is like someone saying they became a vegetarian when they moved to NoVA because there are no meat restaurants.

The area has all sorts of religions and denominations of religions.

[hertfordshire]

The stats on City Data are 8 years old, so I'd be interested in the current stats. But in 2010, there were more Catholics in Fairfax County than Evangelical Protestants, but FAR more Evangelical congregations than Catholic congregations. And the growth in both Evangelical Protestant and Evangelical Protestant congregations was more than 80% between 2000 and 2010, whereas the number of Catholics shrank and the number of Catholic congregations only grew 12% in the same time.

https://www.city-data.com/county/reli...County-VA.html

It's true that the Catholic church, especially in urban and suburban areas tend toward fewer larger congregations. So by comparison, there aren't very many Catholic churches in NOVA.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by MrJester

What is the plurality religion in NOVA? I know it is a very liberal area, and thus supposedly would be secular/nonreligious. However, I'd also expect a lot of mainline, liberal churches, Reform Jews, and Muslims.

Of course, there'd probably be a good deal of conservative Evangelicals (after all, it's technically, though not culturally, in The South and the South is dominated by Southern Baptists).

I have never been to NOVA myself, just wondering because my friend (we're from the Los Angeles area) and her entire family grew up (and still is) Catholic, except for her sister, who converted to become an Evangelical Presbyterian. Her sister now lives in NOVA. I asked her why her sister became an Evangelical. She said that actually, Catholics and Evangelicals believe in "pretty much the same thing" and that there aren't very many Catholic churches in NOVA so her sister's only option is to go to a Protestant church.

So, is it true that there aren't a lot of Catholic churches in NOVA, or does my friend just not have a clue about religion?

I’m an atheist myself but I promise you there is no shortage of Catholic Churches. I’m a quick walk from a pretty popular one in North Arlington.

[Flamingo13]

No idea why the OP posted in this thread but there are churches of all denominations in the area.

[Ffxdata]

There are soooo many Catholic Churches. So many more than where I’m from in Texas.

And in no way are they “practically the same” in any way. Like, at all.

[slowlane3]

Originally Posted by hertfordshire

It's true that the Catholic church, especially in urban and suburban areas tend toward fewer larger congregations. So by comparison, there aren't very many Catholic churches in NOVA.

This is true. You see much fewer Catholic than Protestant churches along the roadside.... however, EACH Catholic church tends to have MUCH larger congregational memberships. Catholic churches also as a rule do not list themselves in the "yellow pages" (if anyone even uses that resource anymore). It is ridiculous to say that NoVA does not have many Catholic churches.

Bishop O'Connell high school in North Arlington, is the largest-enrollment private high school in the D.C. metro area. Both the Bobby and Ted Kennedy families used to live in NoVA. The most recent previous Governor of VA was Catholic.

Here is an official listing of all parishes.

https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/find-a-mass

https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/parish-finder

You mentioned Reformed Jews. Jews of the metro D.C. area as a whole, are much more numerous throughout Montgomery County, MD, than they are in NoVA. The largest Jewish congregation in NoVA, is Temple Rodef Shalom. Annandale also has a Jewish community center.