Religious Minority? Depends Where You Live

Andrew Sullivan led me to these Gallup Poll results of a simple question asked of people: Is religion an important part of your daily life? The top (or bottom, depending on your viewpoint) ten:

Mississippi 85% yes
Alabama 82
South Carolina 80
Tennessee 79
Louisiana 78
Arkansas 78
Georgia 76
North Carolina 76
Oklahoma 75
Kentucky 74
Texas 74

For some reason I have the tune to Dixie in my head. South Dakota comes in at #15 with 68%, tied with North Dakota, Virginia,Missouri and Indiana, and only 1% behind Utah, which surprised me; I'd have guessed Utah would be higher. Dale's Oregon is at #44 with 53%, while Brian's Florida is tied for #22 with 65%.

Vermont has the low, 42%, with New Hampshire at 46%, Maine and Massachusetts at 48%, and Sarah Palin's Alaska at 51%. The worldwide numbers are interesting too; Americans are mid-pack among all nations, but considerably more devout than most wealthy ones.