America’s Alternative Religions

While it is no surprise that Christianity is America’s leading religion in all 50 states, the alternative religions that are the second most popular faiths still offer some surprising glimpses into the country from a different perspective. According to the findings of a recent study, all of the western U.S. would be full of Buddhist believers if the main religion were removed and the runner up were the dominant faith. Of course, in most of the country that would still be a big “if” since the majority religion claims well over 90 percent of the believers in every state. Still, the unique view of alternative religions by regions in the study is intriguing for the view it offers of alternative faith traditions and their place in the culture of the country. From Hindu to Jewish, Buddhist to Muslim, the runner-up religions in most states come from one of the world’s other significant religious traditions.

More Colors Than Red and Blue States

An easy reference for many in the media in the past decade has been the political leanings of a state, whether the majority tends to vote Republican (red) or Democrat (blue) in statewide elections. The colorful new map of the country produced by the study of religious beliefs shows that in the northeast of the country the Jewish faith is second most prominent, with one small exception. Delaware is one of two states in the country that have Hindu population significant enough to be the second leading religion in the state. At the opposite end of the country, Arizona is the other state that shares the color on the map signifying the popularity of the Hindu faith. In South Carolina, a demographic book could possibly be written on the reasons for the history of dominance of the Baha’i faith as second most popular to Christianity. Similarly, there are reasons that Buddhism is the runner up to the largest faith, not just in the coastal states, where Asian immigrants could be expected to bring a large Buddhist population, but in conservative inland states like Utah, Idaho, Oklahoma and Nebraska as well. The overall impression is of an alternative America, beyond the two color politic spectrum and the traditional dominance of the various sects of the main religion in the country.