Texas ranks as 2024’s 3rd-most religious state in study

TEXAS, USA — Faith, family and football is a common mantra among Texans. 

And that’s not just a saying.

A recent study ranks Texas among the most religious states in the country, checking in at No. 3.

Using data from U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Religion Census, Google Trends, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and more, SmileHub compared the 50 states across three categories to compile their rankings (see methodology below).

Here are the rankings compiled by SmileHub: 

1. Alabama
2. Virginia
3. Texas
4. Tennessee
5. North Carolina
6. South Carolina
7. Indiana
8. Pennsylvania
9. Georgia
10. New York

Among the 11 metrics measured in the study, Texas ranked first for the following: most faith and religious support charities per capita, highest Google search interest index for faith and religion terms. Texas ranked second for the most religious establishments per capita, trailing only North Carolina.

According to one of the study’s sources, the U.S. Religion Census, Texas is predominantly Catholic and Southern Baptist. A census is released every 10 years, so this data is citing the 2020 report.

While surrounding areas of North Texas are predominantly Southern Baptist, the most populous areas of Dallas, Tarrant and Collin counties are predominantly Catholic.

In South Texas most counties are predominantly Catholic with a few counties predominantly Southern Baptist.

The map below shows a deeper look at the makeup of religious congregations by county. The darker-shaded counties report 50-plus percent adherents of that particular denomination. The lighter-shaded counties still report as a majority, but fall from 25 percent to 49 percent.

The three categories were broken down into 11 metrics: 

Religious Interest & Places of Worship 

• Share of Adults Who Consider Religion Very Important in Their Lives
• Share of Adherents
  • Note: Adherents may include all those with an affiliation to a congregation (children, members, and attendees who are not members).
• Share of People Who Attend Religious Services at Least Once a Week
• Congregations per Capita
  • Note: Congregations may be churches, mosques, temples, or other meeting places. A congregation may generally be defined as a group of people who meet regularly (typically weekly or monthly) at a pre-announced time and location.
• Places of Worship per Capita
• Google Search Interest Index for Faith and Religion Terms
  • Note: This composed metric includes the search interest index for the terms: “religion”, “prayer”, “faith”, “church”, “mosque” and “temple”.

Religious Education & Careers 

• Religious Studies Degrees Awarded per Capita:
  • Note: A program that focuses on the nature of religious belief and specific religious and quasi-religious systems. Includes instruction in phenomenology; the sociology, psychology, philosophy, anthropology, literature and art of religion; mythology; scriptural and textual studies; religious history and politics; and specific studies of particular faith communities and their behavior.
• Religious and Sacred Music Degrees Awarded per Capita
  • Note: A program that focuses on the history, theory, composition, and performance of music for religious or sacred purposes, and that prepares individuals for religious musical vocations such as choir directors, cantors, organists, and chanters.
• Share of Religion-Related Careers

Religion-Affiliated Organizations

• Faith and Religious Support Charities per Capita
• Religious Establishments per Capita
  • Note: This metric includes: churches, religious temples, monasteries and other establishments primarily engaged in administering or promoting religious activities (schools, radio and television stations, publishing houses and used merchandise stores that are operated by religious organizations).

To view the full rankings by SmileHub, click here.

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