How Religious Is Your State?

A new Gallup survey reveals that all our stereotypes about religiosity and US geography are correct. Surprise, surprise: Mississippi, Utah, Alabama, and Louisiana are the most religious states. And lo and behold, the Northeast (that hotbed of liberal Democrats and ivy league schools) are the least religious.

Via LiveScience:

A new Gallup survey reveals which U.S. states are most and least religious, with the South living up to its Bible Belt label, while other states were less likely to attend religious services.

The results are based on telephone interviews conducted between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011, with a random sample of 353,492 adults, ages 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Here are the rankings:

Mississippi: 59 percent are very religious
Utah: 57 percent
Alabama: 56 percent
Louisiana: 54 percent
Arkansas: 54 percent
South Carolina: 54 percent
Tennessee: 52 percent
North Carolina: 50 percent
Georgia: 48 percent
Oklahoma: 48 percent
Texas: 47 percent
Kentucky: 47 percent
South Dakota: 45 percent
Indiana: 45 percent
Missouri: 44 percent
North Dakota: 44 percent
Nebraska: 44 percent
West Virginia: 43 percent
Virginia: 42 percent
Idaho: 42 percent
New Mexico: 41 percent
Iowa: 41 percent
Minnesota: 40 percent
Pennsylvania: 40 percent
Ohio: 39 percent
Maryland: 39 percent
Florida: 39 percent
Illinois: 39 percent
Wisconsin: 37 percent
Michigan: 37 percent
Arizona: 35 percent
Montana: 35 percent
California: 35 percent
Wyoming: 34 percent
New Jersey: 34 percent
Delaware: 33 percent
Colorado: 33 percent
Hawaii: 33 percent
Rhode Island: 32 percent
New York: 32 percent
District of Columbia: 32 percent
Connecticut: 31 percent
Washington: 30 percent
Nevada: 30 percent
Oregon: 30 percent
Alaska: 28 percent
Massachusetts: 28 percent
Maine: 25 percent
Vermont: 23 percent are very religious
New Hampshire: 23 percent

It is worth noting that five years ago I moved from the least religious state to the eighth most religious state. It has been quite an adjustment.

Read the full story here.

It is also worth mentioning that this data aligns quite well with so many other telling characteristics of our US states.

Robertson: "Demonic Possession" Behind Homosexuality

Offered without comment:

NC Amendment One Sample Ballot

Here is the Amendment One referendum as it will appear on your ballot when you vote on May 8 (you are registered to vote on May 8, right?).

You know what to do.

Please share with your friends, neighbors, and family.  Make sure they are registered to vote on May 8, that they are not confused by the wording, and that they understand the harms that will be done to many North Carolinians (not only homosexual couples), if this amendment passes.

The Sagan Series: 'The Humans'

The ninth video in The Sagan Series is now available for viewing. It's a wonderful mash-up of video from a variety of sources, including Koyaanisqatsi, Human Planet, and Baraka, and featuring the voice of Sagan himself, reading from 'Wanderers: An Introduction' from The Pale Blue Dot.

"For all its material advantages, the sedentary life has left us edgy, unfulfilled. Even after 400 generations in villages and cities, we haven't forgotten. The open road still softly calls, like a nearly forgotten song of childhood. We invest far-off places with a certain romance. This appeal, I suspect, has been meticulously crafted by natural selection as an essential element in our survival. Long summers, mild winters, rich harvests, plentiful game—none of them lasts forever. It is beyond our powers to predict the future. Catastrophic events have a way of sneaking up on us, of catching us unaware. Your own life, or your band's, or even your species' might be owed to a restless few—drawn, by a craving they can hardly articulate or understand, to undiscovered lands and new worlds." - Carl Sagan, The Pale Blue Dot

The Sagan Series is an educational project working in hopes of promoting scientific literacy in the general population. Created by Reid Gover.

Symphony of Science: The World Of The Dinosaur

The latest music video from melodysheep in the Symphony of Science series is The World of the Dinosaurs.

It features Alice Roberts, Bill Nye, Nigel Marvin, Dallas Campbell and more. Materials used in the creation of the video were culled from the following:

Dinosaurs Alive
BBC "How to Build a Dinosaur"
BBC "Extinct: A Horizon Guide to Dinosaurs"
Bill Nye - Dinosaurs
Prehistoric Park
Discovery Channel "Last Day of the Dinosaurs"
Jurassic Park
Jack Horner's 2011 TED Talk

Watch:

Pastor Dennis Terry Introduces Rick Santorum, Tells Non-Christians And Liberals To Get Out Of America

Via HuffPo:

Praying for a white, straight, Christian America.

In a revival type speech, Greenwell Springs Baptist Church pastor Rev. Dennis Terry offered some pointed words about abortion, gay marriage, and prayer in schools as he introduced Family Research Council president Tony Perkins and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum.

So, here we have Dennis Terry, who is a raging homophobic, science-denying, hate-monger, introducing Tony Perkins, another raging homophobic, who is president of the Family Research Center, an SLPC-designated hate group, and Rick Santorum.

As if there was any more correlations necessary to illustrate Rick Santorum's theocratic, discriminatory, and intolerant views.

"There is only one God and his name is Jesus ... We don't worship Buddha, we don't worship Mohammad, we don't worship Allah, we worship God, we worship God's son Jesus Christ...God, have favor on Rick Santorum." said Terry.

Watch:

Indonesia’s Highest Islamic Authority: Lady Gaga Concert Will Destroy The Nation’s Morality

Via the Jakarta Globe:

A high-ranking member of Indonesia’s highest Islamic authority has urged Muslims not to attend Lady Gaga’s upcoming concert in Jakarta, declaring that the pop star known for her sexy and controversial outfits was forbidden under Islamic law.“[The concert is] intended to destroy the nation’s morality,” said Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) chairman Cholil Ridwan, who added that he had never watched the singer perform and only heard of her “reputation” second-hand.

Apparently, not many Indonesians who know of Lady Gaga's reputation first-hand seem to care. Her show sold more than 25,000 tickets in less than two hours.

Cholil took exception with Lady Gaga’s revealing outfits and sexualized dance moves, claiming that a female dangdut singer who wore similar costumes would also be haram.

But he claimed Lady Gaga was worse. "She is from the West, and she often shows her aurat [private parts of the body] when performing," Cholil said.

While he was aware that many Western singers have already performed in Indonesia, Cholil said maybe it was time to put an end to these "cultural attacks."

Another MUI chairman, Slamet Effendi Yusuf, seemed to be less condemning of Gaga.

“I am sure they know what is good and bad,” he said. “However, I hope Lady Gaga can also wear a proper [dress] in her show.”

I'm sure she will do just that.