Wow
Driving around Virginia (USA) and lost count A LONG time ago of how many churches I've seen
I sometimes forget just how ingrained religion is on our culture since I tend to ignore that kind of stuff where I live...
My daughter lives in NC and it's like that there, too, even in some good-sized cities.
She and her husband and children are progressives and atheists, and once when she was bemoaning how difficult it was to meet like-minded people I suggested that she should hang out at the only Whole Foods in the area
I live in rural Virginia (usa).
In the trenches.
Fighting the good fight.
Send hippies, Google, and patchouli.
And yet Virginia is somewhere in the middle, according to Pew Research, when it comes to religiosity. One must peel away to the next layer of that onion, and examine religiosity by county. Fairfax county, for example, is probably a lot different than some of the neighboring counties. Even in my state of California, one can find regions of religiosity, and more mega churches (with 2,000 or more attendees at each service) than in any state. Think of what passing the offering plate means in one of those churches!
You are correct; when I lived in Charlottesville and Richmond there were of course various churches but I didn't seem to see them as prominently "promoted" as they have been throughout the more rural areas and more southern VA areas I've driven through today
Living in West Virginia, I know exactly what you mean.