Nine of the top 10 most “religious” states in the country voted Republican in each of the last four presidential elections. All but one of the top 10 most religious states have voted on the GOP side of the aisle with the exception of North Carolina who voted Republican in three out of the last four presidential elections.
Interestingly enough eight out of the 11 (11 because of states that were tied) least “religious” states voted Democrat in each of the last four presidential elections. Alaska is the only state out of the top 11 least religious states that voted for the Republican candidate for president in each of the last four elections.
Data from the United States government archives were examined in order to determine which states voted which way in specific elections.
Pew Research asked 35,000 adults from all 50 states, and Washington D.C., participating in the Religious Landscape Study to determine different aspects about their religious beliefs, or lack thereof.
The four questions included:
- Is religion important in your life?
- Do you attend “worship services” at least weekly?
- Do you pray daily?
- Do you believe in God?
In rank order, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas and South Carolina (tied for fifth) are the top most religious states in the country.
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Connecticut are the least religious states in the country.
As a matter of fact, Alabama and Massachusetts have voted Republican and Democrat respectively in every presidential election since 1988. The last election in which one state strayed from their traditional party lines was Massachusetts in 1984, when the typically left-leaning state voted in majority for incumbent Republican Ronald Reagan.
Only 40 percent of people surveyed from Massachusetts said that they believed in God, while 82 percent of people in Alabama and Mississippi said they believed in God.
Another interesting stat in the survey showed that only 50 percent of “younger millennials” (born 1990-1996) believe with “absolute certainty” in God.
As mentioned above, here are the top 10 most religious, followed by the top 11 least religious states with the amount of times they voted Republican or Democrat in the last four elections:
Most Religious:
Least Religious:
Here is Pew Research's map of the percentage of adults in the U.S. who are "highly religious."
