This was a very interesting post, half of which won’t interest people who doesn’t care for scatter-plots /voter preferences etc.
The possibility is just wow. Imagine when or if Vermont becomes the first minority non-Christian state. What happens to the extra rights religious organizations enjoy whence a majority no longer believe in organized religion. Imagine the research papers one could write about how Vermont is so much better or worse compare to other more religious states. This is wow. To say the possibilities are interesting is a grave understatement.
The rise of the irreligious Left
Posted on: January 24, 2010 6:36 PM, by Razib Khan
Barry Kosmin at CUNY has published the results of three surveys of American religion since 1990. These “American Religious Identification Surveys” (ARIS) were done in 1990, another in 2001, and finally in 2008. One of the major findings of the ARIS has been the rise of those who avow “No Religion”. Looking through the data it is also clear that aggregating nationally understates some of the local changes. In 1990 47% Vermonters were non-Catholic Christians (i.e., Protestants). In 2008 29% were. In 1990 13% of Vermonters had No Religion. In 2008 34% of Vermonters had No Religion! In fact, No Religion has a plural majority in Vermont, with 26% of the population being Catholic. This is a much bigger shift than nationally. In Kosmin’s book One Nation Under God, which drew upon the 1990 survey results, he noted that though the Northeast has a reputation for being relatively secular, it is in fact highly confessionalized in comparison to other regions, such as the Pacific Northwest. This isn’t true anymore; much of New England has experienced a wave of rapid secularization and disaffiliation. If current rates of secularization continue Vermont may become the first minority non-Christian state. It was only 55% Christian in 2008.
via The rise of the irreligious Left : Gene Expression.