Abstract
A recent map depicting levels of religious adherence across the United States appeared to show that West Virginia has a very low level of religious adherence, similar to some areas of the West coast and New England. Using individual-level survey data we investigate if this is an accurate portrayal of religion in the state. We find that West Virginia is more similar to states presented as highly religious in the map, such as Texas and Alabama, when looking at measures of individual belief, behavior, and belonging. Further examination of the affiliations of West Virginia residents suggest that a high rate of belonging to independent or unaffiliated congregations is likely responsible for the undercounting of religious adherence in the state. We conclude by considering the challenges of measuring religion in poor, rural communities, especially when the culture and history of those communities has not favored strong organizational ties.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Davie, Grace. 1990. Believing Without Belonging: Is this the Future of Religion in Britain? Social Compass 37(4): 455–469.
Dorgan, Howard. 2010. “Primitive Baptists.” e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1921. Accessed Sept 2018.
Egoshin, Alex. 2018. “Faithland.” https://www.vividmaps.com/2018/01/faithland.html. Accessed 1 Aug 2018.
Gehrz, Chris. 2018. “Faithland: What’s the Most Highly Religious Part of America?” Patheos.com. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2018/02/faithland-most-highly-religious-part-america/. Accessed 1 Aug 2018.
Grammich, Clifford, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E. Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley, and Richard H. Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S. Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.
Hill, Samuel. 2005. The Peripheral South: Florida and Appalachia. In Religion & Public Life in the South: The Evangelical Mode, ed. Charles Reagan Wilson and Mark Silk, 141–163. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
Jorgensen, Sydney. 2018. ‘Faithland map shows highest, lowest religious regions in the US.’ Desert News. https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900009463/faithland-map-shows-highest-lowest-religious-regions-in-us.html. Accessed 1 Aug 2018.
Pritchett, Chett. 2010. “Religion.” e-WV: The West Virginia. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/54. Accessed Sept 2018.
Silk, Mark, and Andrew Walsh. 2008. One Nation Divisible: How Regional Religious Differences Shape American Politics. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.
Tomer, Adie, Elizabeth Kneebone, and Ranjitha Shivaram, 2017. Signs of Digital Distress: Mapping Broadband Availability and Subscription in American Neighborhoods. Brookings Institution. (https://www.brookings.edu/research/signs-of-digital-distress-mapping-broadband-availability/). Accessed Sept 2018.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau. 2015. American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Replication Statement: Data for the Pew Religious Landscape Study 2014 can be downloaded from <http://www.thearda.com/Archive/Files/Downloads/RELLAND14_DL.asp>. Data for the Religious Congregations and Membership Study 2010 can be downloaded from <http://www.thearda.com/Archive/Files/Descriptions/RCMSCY10.asp>.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hudnall, E.B., Corcoran, K.E. & Scheitle, C.P. Is West Virginia A Religious Void? An Investigation. Rev Relig Res 61, 109–118 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-019-00362-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-019-00362-5