Churchgoing Lowest in New England, Highest in South
Sunday, Apr. 30, 2006

The latest Gallup poll found that 42 percent of Americans say they attend church or synagogue once a week or almost every week and among the frequent churchgoers, most are from the South while the New England states have the lowest percentage of church attendance.

Based on a large sample size of more than 68,000 interviews conducted over the past two years, the survey saw as high a percentage as 58 in Alabama while New Hampshire and Vermont showed the lowest attendance rate of 24 percent.

Survey results revealed a wide variation across 48 states, but overall patterns clearly indicated the highest church attendance in the traditionally Southern states. Of the Southern states, Virginia had the lowest reported churchgoer rate with 44 percent, which still lies above the national average. Church attendance is also high in certain Midwestern states, including Nebraska with 53 percent.

At the other end of the spectrum, the New England states show church attendance rates in the 20 to 30 percent range with the highest among those being Connecticut at 37 percent. the rest