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* OK, it’s a little fuzzy looking because I had to increase the size so you could see it, but this is from the decennial Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies survey of predominant religions by county. First up, mainline Protestants…
The color key…
The differences between north and south here are more than just apparent, they’re striking, although not exactly surprising.
* Roman Catholics…
The color key…
* Explanation of how the data was collected…
In most cases, the numbers are supplied by the headquarters of each denomination, though organizations count membership differently. In a few instances, such as the nondenominational and Muslim categories, scholars’ surveys were used. The geographical spread reflects where people worship, not where they live.
* Illinois stuff…
That calculation revealed that evangelicals affiliated with independent churches make up the second-largest religious group in Illinois. In fact, in 48 of the 50 states, independent evangelicals occupy a top-five spot. In the Chicago area, Illinois and nationwide, Roman Catholics rank as the largest religious group.
With 176 religious traditions, Illinois slipped from its top spot as the most religiously diverse state in 2000, falling to Pennsylvania with 184. […]
Nationwide, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, reported the most growth of all religious traditions in the U.S., adding more than 1.9 million adherents. In Illinois and Cook and DuPage counties, that distinction belonged to Muslims, a piece of information that intrigued researcher Clifford Grammich, of Downers Grove, who collected Catholic data for the study. […]
The Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal denomination, added 22,854 adherents — more growth than any other Christian tradition in the state, including Mormons.
The study shows that Catholics, though still the largest denomination in the state and the nation, declined about 5 percent nationwide as well as in Illinois and the Chicago area. Researchers warned, however, that numbers from previous studies were not wholly comparable.
Discuss.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 12:30 pm
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Are there no Jewish people in Illinois?
Comment by Deep South Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 12:41 pm
the jewish community in the chicagoland area is largely based near the lake running from southern lake county to hyde park.
Comment by Shore Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 12:46 pm
This is interesting, I think it would be a fun to do a study (or read a study) on women and the Catholic church in particular how it relates to the birth control issues.
Comment by Ahoy Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 12:50 pm
And we Presbyterians are so insignificant we get lumped into “other.” Go figure. No wonder things are a mess.
|–
Comment by Excessively Rabid Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 12:52 pm
Sorry, wit lost in translation. Never mind.
Comment by Excessively Rabid Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 12:53 pm
Ahoy,
This is a trend that has been ongoing since Vatican II. I think there are a lot of reasons that people fall away from the Catholic Church, of which the reason you mentioned is one of them. However, the teaching on birth control was promulgated in Humanae Vitae in 1968, so it’s hardly new. It’s just getting much more attention in light of the Obama Administration requirements that it be paid for first by employers and now by insurance. For better or for worse, most religion (of all denominations) just isn’t in vogue these days (and has been declining since the 1960s).
Comment by WUSTL Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 1:42 pm
I have heard only a little, and very recently, on the topic of politics and religion as it pertains to those of us who may have fallen away from “religion” or not believe at all. The article I read hypothesized that many politicians in office are secretly non-believers (based strictly on statistics this would have to be true) and that the electorate would rather vote for every other minority group.
Comment by Nonbeliever-*Gasp* Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 2:13 pm
While Illinois’ geography is primarily north to south, it’s historical immigration (excepting Mexican immigration) has been east to west.
Hence, Chicago reflects a more New England/New York emigration pattern via the railroads, while Southern Illinois was more of an Ohio River flow — the old Butternuts.
–Are there no Jewish people in Illinois?–
There are, but relatively few.
Out of a world population of about 7 billion, there are about 13.5 million Jews. About half live in North America, with the largest concentrations in New York, Southern California and Southern Florida.
http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/world-jewish-population.htm
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 3:12 pm
Word,
As the family historian, I can say a lot of the central / southern Illinois population of German descent came up through New Orleans and St Louis out into the farm land.
Deep South,
You’ll find small Jewish communities in the larger downstate cities. I personally know one of the rarest of the type, a conservative / libertarian. With his Jewish background and my Catholic, we have far ranging discussions about theology and religion.
Comment by Retired Non-Union Guy Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 3:41 pm
I know there are small Jewish communities “downstate.” My wife is Jewish and is a member of a temple in Southern Illinois. I’m always surprised be who comes out of the woodwork on Passover. My post was in response to the map Rich posted, which seemed to include everyone but Jewish people. I was being a wise-acre.
Comment by Deep South Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 3:51 pm
Oh, BTW….I too have a Jewish friend who is rather conservative. He’s from a small Southern Illinois town of about 4,000. We also have fun discussions.
Comment by Deep South Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 3:52 pm
–As the family historian, I can say a lot of the central / southern Illinois population of German descent came up through New Orleans and St Louis out into the farm land.–
You’re correct, I was talking in broad strokes.
I also neglected the whole Mississippi Delta migration north after the Great Flood and later for the the WWII factory jobs.
Still, Catholics/Lutherans up north, Baptists/Evangelicals down south, tracks the east-west pattern.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 3:56 pm
Rich, thanks for writing it as “Roman Catholics.” The concept of catholicity is wider ranging than just the Roman Catholic church and there are other churches that use Catholic in their church title.
Comment by amalia Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 4:03 pm
Those further interested in the study may wish to visit the web page for it, USReligionCensus.org. This web page has hundreds of U.S. maps available for download.
Detailed data, including for each of the 236 participating religious bodies by state, county, and metro area, are available at www.thearda.com/rcms2010.
Incidentally, the first map Mr. Miller posts above is of leading Protestant body by county, not leading Mainline Protestant body. My apologies for the unclear labeling of this map in the pdf file from which I assume Mr. Miller took this map. A map with better resolution (and labeling) is available upon request.
Data on Jewish populations are available as well, though I note the data are for persons affiliated with a specific congregation and tradition (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist), and will therefore be lower than more common Jewish population estimates.
Because the Religion Census reports data for all Catholic churches in communion with one another, including both Latin (or Roman) and Eastern churches, it uses the term Catholic Church, not Roman Catholic Church.
Off-topic and a bit dated, but those interested in the issue of religious affiliation and views on family-planning issues may wish to read relevant sections of http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1114.html.
Comment by Cliff Grammich Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 4:38 pm
Perhaps the 5% decline in the Catholic numbers is due more to the nation’s failing economy over the last 4 years than anything else? Mexico has had a higher employment rate than the United States for the past several years. Many Hispanics that had been living in this country decided to migrate back to Mexico where it was easier to find a job. Hence, I wonder if the migration back to Mexico for employment by Hispanics (who are predominately of the Catholic faith) over the last few years might be a major reason for the lower number of Catholics in Illinois and in the United States? I am not sure what the current unemployment rate in Mexico is but last year it was only around 4%.
Comment by Wilson Pickett Wednesday, May 2, 12 @ 8:39 pm