Bragging rights on religious diversity from FFRF Freethought Today August 2021 Religiously unaffiliated Americans are spread throughout the country but are most concentrated in the West and the Northeast. The five highest concentrations of religiously unaffiliated Americans in counties with greater than 10,000 residents are (by percentage):
San Juan County, Wash. (49)
Multnomah County, Ore. (48)
Glacier County, Mont. (45)
Humboldt County, Calif. (45)
Tompkins County, N.Y. (45)
Nearly four in ten (39 percent) religiously unaffiliated Americans live in urban areas, 44 percent live in suburban areas, and 17 percent live in rural areas.
Glacier County, Montana. That is quite surprising. Cities like Billings have grown in recent years with quite a few California transplants
But not enough unaffiliated people to increase the percentage.
@JackPedigo the fact that a county in MT is on that list ought to give you some pause here
@Heavykevy1985 Can't really say. Never been to Montana. Yes, I would assume the rural nature of the state would make them more religious.
Very depressing
Actually, things are getting better all the time.
I have considered moving to one of these communities...
I’m guessing a large percent of these non religious people are believers in a higher power. They call themselves “spiritualist”......
Basically they’re smart enough to have figured out that the Bible story has too many holes in it, and is therefore bullshit. But they’re too weak to let go of the notion of a higher power, and life having some grand mystical purpose....
Maybe you should do a survey.
@JackPedigo I’ll pass, I’ve done plenty of surveying already on social and dating sites....
Great info for one who is contemplating moving.
Unfortunately, we are grappling with too many moving here. Since we are ferry dependent many newbies are wealthy retirees who want to build big houses or vacation homes (which has been stopped). Add the fact this is one of the top spots in the state for tourists + the pandemic stopped most visitors last year = this has been a nightmare year.
@JackPedigo ............
Good on ya San Juan County!!!
One of the attractions that brought us here.
Living in a red state and in a red county, I'm running against the wind here. But I have a circle of friends that are blue non-believers, and I avoid right-wingers like the plague (literally). Our trumpist governor (DeStupid) is actually HELPING push more people into the blue camp.
Nearly as many people have died of COVID in FL than Americans during the entire Vietnam war.
By the end of October, Death Santis will likely have topped that.
@BufftonBeotch I hope that bastard dies next.
@CuddyCruiser You know damn well that slimy-ass hypocrite is fully vaccinated.
@BufftonBeotch Maybe our highest priority needs to be making SURE we keep him out of the White House.
@mischl He has all the charm and charisma of a fly stuck in pudding. I think he only got elected gov because he was trumpety's "boy" at the time.
The Putrid Pumpkin seems to resent him now.
@BufftonBeotch All those GOP Govs I’m sure are…….Greg Abbott also.
Yep, but there are growing pockets of resistance in many of the rural areas.
I know a number of people who are still afraid to be "out" as atheist or agnostic.
While I know people gotta do what people gotta do, I really try to encourage others to be bold. At least when I can.
In some cases, I think my being vocal may have helped a few others learn they don't need to be afraid.
I sure hope so anyway.
Good for you. Here, I have yet to meet anyone afraid to speak up. I guess being a small county does help but I was surprised as there are two other islands much larger both with much bigger populations.
I don’t hide shit. I wear it with a badge of honor and outright flaunt it.
@CuddyCruiser ....your being considered for admission to polite society. your almost in. the hold-up is your excessive use of the word shit.
That explains a lot to me. They call where I live "rural".
This county is very rural. I hadn't thought of it before but with 30 sq miles (on this island) and a population of 2,500 permanent residents that's 83.3 people per square mile.
@JackPedigo The town I live in is pretty densely populated, actually, but the county only has 40k people which is half the population of the second largest city in the state, in a state that has really small cities. I'm betting that people from NYC do not consider 80k people a city.
@MyTVC15 Your right about that.
@MyTVC15 San Juan Island county is one of the smallest in the country. However, because there are some 175 (named) islands here, it has one of the longest shorelines in the country. About the population I had thought how can a county with just under 17K people be counted but it's not about numbers but percentage. That way the little guys get to play ball with the major leaguers (I'm not a sports fan it just came to me).