Religious States of Being

AP US Government and Politics

What percent of adults in your state are "highly religious"?

View fullsize

Pew Fact Tank

1. How accurate was your prediction?

2. When people say they are "Highly religious" what religion do you think most of them are talking about?

3. What is the big story that this map tells?

4. What's the biggest surprise in this map?

5. How would this map have been different 100 years ago?

6. How do you predict this map will be different when you are 50 years old?

7. What is one trend you see in the map?

8. What explains that trend?

9. What is one consequence of that trend?

10. MC Hammer famously said/sang/danced, "You got to pray just to make it each day." What do you think he would say about this map?

11. If you had to give the US an overall religiosity score what would it be?

12. How do you think US religiosity compares to other countries around the world?

13. What is the impact of this map on the US political system in general?

14. How did this map impact last year's presidential elections?

15. Based on the map, explain the connection between religiosity and party affiliation.

16. In the comments section, describe how you feel about the religiosity of your state and the United States in general:

---

Action Extension

Survey ten of your friends and family members about whether they consider themselves "highly religious." Compare your survey results to the rest of your state and share your results in class and on social media. If you think the US is not religious enough, go to church more. If you think the US is too religious, go to church less.

---

Learning Extension

Use the Pew Religion Calculator to find out how religious your state is, and check out the list of the top ten most religious states (mine is #10!)

Bonus Information*