The South: Most Religious Area of the U.S.?

As part of a series titled "State of the States," a new Gallup Poll ranked the top religious states in the United States and found Southern states ranked highest on the list, while several states in the Northeast ranked the lowest. After more than 350,000 interviews, the survey found that Southern states had the highest percentage of respondents who said they considered religion to be an important part of their daily lives. Mississippi topped the list with 85 percent of those surveyed claiming that religion was important. Vermont was named the least religious state, with just 42 percent of respondents there who said they were religious. The data for the poll was collected throughout 2008 via telephone interviews of 355,334 U.S. residents over the age of 18. According to the Princeton-based polling organization, the poll accounted for varying demographics within each state to ensure the accurate representation of the state's population. Overall, Gallup found that the U.S. is generally a religious country. Sixty-five percent of the total population said religion was an important part of their lives.