fbpx
Politics Foreign Affairs Culture Fellows Program

Demographics & American Religion

Richard Florida creates a map to show where the most religiously observant cities are, and also the least. Excerpt: As I pointed out then, these patterns conform to the broader findings “of political scientist Ronald Inglehart, whose detailed World Values Surveys identify the shift from religious to secular values as one part of the transition to more economically advanced societies. Politicos on the […]

Richard Florida creates a map to show where the most religiously observant cities are, and also the least. Excerpt:

As I pointed out then, these patterns conform to the broader findings “of political scientist Ronald Inglehart, whose detailed World Values Surveys identify the shift from religious to secular values as one part of the transition to more economically advanced societies. Politicos on the left and right like to explain religious voters’ proclivity purely in terms of values. But this misses a central point – that religion is inextricably bound up with the nation’s underlying economic and geographic class divide.”

I wonder how this squares with the findings of Charles Murray and others showing that college-educated people tend to be more religious than working class people. Anyway, the my traditionalist Catholic TAC colleague Michael Brendan Dougherty looks at the Richard Florida map, and sees this:

[Note to readers: I’m about to take off for the airport, headed to NYC to start the Little Way Of Ruthie Leming book tour. It’s going to be touch and go for approving comments today. Please be patient — and if you come see me on the tour, be sure to introduce yourselves, and say your name. I’m horrible with names, and I’m about to start meeting a lot of new people. — RD]

Advertisement

Comments

Want to join the conversation?

Subscribe for as little as $5/mo to start commenting on Rod’s blog.

Join Now