Godless heathens: Wash. ranks 36th in importance of religion

I was pleasantly surprised to see the latest report on the importance of religion from the Pew Research Center. My state of Washington ranks only 36th in the survey. Only 48 percent of those in my state said they believe religion is very important to their lives; down from the first survey which I seen over 20 years ago, when the numbers were over 85 percent:


The Pacific Northwest had long been viewed as the least "churched" corner of the United States.


According to Pew's evaluation, 48 percent of Washington citizens believe religion is very important to their lives. The Evergreen State ranks 34th in worship attendance, 32nd in the frequency of prayer, and 36th in belief in God.
The Seattle PI



The state which ranked the highest in religious importance was Mississippi:


The rating ranks Mississippi as the nation's most religious state, with 82 percent saying religion is very important in their lives. The Magnolia State comes first in worship attendance, frequency of prayer and belief in God.


The states which have the lowest importance of religion were New Hampshire and Vermont; where one can also see a direct correlation between the levels of education, rates of crime, and religious importance. In those states where there are less deluded people; there’s also a lot less crime.


Free higher education = less religious delusion and crime – I support free higher education for all; though I know we’ll never see it. We can’t even get real health care reform passed!


John