Where the religious are located

Thought I had better attribute the source of the data I quoted. Note that - something I had overlooked before - african-american churches are not included in these stats! Most of them are independent baptist, but were never affiliated with the national baptist conventions for reasons you can probably guess.

Since the county is 11.3% AA (which I thought was more like 15-20%), and the overwhelming majority go to church, that would increase the total of christians substantially - perhaps by 10%, which would put it in the mid-eighties. So , my estimate of "nearly 100%" wasn't really that far off.

Quote:

*The "Unadjusted Totals" come from the 1990 and 2000 data collected by representatives of the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). While quite comprehensive, this data excludes most of the historically African-American denominations and some other major groups. As a result, these numbers will be an underestimate of the total adherence rate, particularly in areas with a large African-American population. The 2000 data included 149 religious groups and the final results are published in Religious Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Copyright © 2002, All rights reserved. The 1990 data included 132 groups and the final results are published in Churches and Church Membership in the United States 1990 Copyright © 1990, All rights reserved. Published by Glenmary Research Center, 1312 Fifth Ave., North, Nashville, TN 37208. www.glenmary.org/grc [More information on the data collection]

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Hi Neologist (whatever that is )

Starbucks? Surely you jest! We're lucky to get a decent cuppa coffe at the convenience store. Have you ever travelled down this way? Every Texas town has a Wal-Mart - uhoh - MOST texas towns have a Wal-Mart. It's an beloved institution around here.

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Real Life - Howdy!

Well, Gore IS a southern baptist you know - but so was Brother Bill. I wish I could get over my extreme, admittedly almost irrational, aversion to abortion - because I really do rather like those guys in every other way. I know they are supporting it only for political reasons, because their northern base demands it, but it's a difficult issue for me to cope with. It's just plain wrong - a terrible national tragedy!

Gore, however, has gotten pretty far out in left field on the environmental thing, don't you think? Maybe even a little kookie - remember that beard and all that? I don't think they'll nominate him - it's gonna be Hillary. My favorite, Joe Lieberman, isn't even running. I wish Evan Bayh from Indiana would run - I could really get behind him too.

Romney is a flip-flopper. No principles.

Jack

BTW, you're gettin' up there, too, ain't ya, Set?

Or, have you forgotten?

rosborne979 wrote:

In the North East areas of high population density seem to be more religious than more rural areas. Except for a few exceptions. I wonder if it's a function of how many people thay can catch to take the census (without getting shot at).

My guess: in the North East the white population isnt very religious, not in the cities but not in, say, rural Vermont, NH or Maine much either. But the cities have large Hispanic and black communities, and those are significantly more religious.

Romney used to be pro-abortion, but has changed his view. I think pro-lifers ought to endorse that type of change. That is what we want to see , isn't it? Why would we believe that nobody could ever come to their senses and see abortion for what it is (the killing of a living human being)?

Romney used to be pro-abortion, but has changed his view. I think pro-lifers ought to endorse that type of change. That is what we want to see , isn't it?

....you're gonna get ripped up right regular at this site.

My sparsely populated East Texas county (Tyler Co., 125 miles NE of Houston) is pink on the map, yet I know that it's virtually 100% christian. If there are any atheists, wiccans or muslims around here, they keep a very low profile. If any county should be dark red, it would be this one. I am also very familiar with other heavily christian counties in central Texas that are pale yellow on the map. My theory is that the researchers did not, as someone suggested above, count the thousands of completely independent baptist and pentecostal churches in these southern counties - churches unaffiliated with any larger organization. The map seems to tilt toward areas where large, well-organized religious institutions predominate - Mormon Utah, Catholic Massachussetts, etc. [..]

For those who equate evangelical christianity with conservative politics, this county - as evangelical as any in the country - has NEVER voted republican in a presidential election. The only time it was even close was in 1984, when the dems nominated a woman VP candidate (Reagan came within a couple hundred votes of carrying the county). If you check the census data for Tyler County, TX you'll see there's a lot of poverty and a large percentage of african-americans, and economic issues override social issues for most of them. We'll see how Hillary does here.

I am a democrat too, but personally cannot, in good conscience, vote for a pro-choice candidate. Most of my baptist brethren are also democrats but manage to rationalize it somehow. They choose to vote their pocketbook instead of their Bible. [..]

Quote:

....you're gonna get ripped up right regular at this site.

"Right regular..."? Are you from Texas, Setanta - or are you just a master of regional dialects?

Jack

real life wrote:

Romney used to be pro-abortion, but has changed his view. I think pro-lifers ought to endorse that type of change. That is what we want to see , isn't it?

Or maybe he didn't change his true opinion at all, but just changed his public stance on the issue (to get more votes). Are you sure you know what he believes? Do you know what any of the candidates really believe, or do you simply accept their public persona as it stands.

eltejano wrote:

My sparsely populated East Texas county (Tyler Co., 125 miles NE of Houston) is pink on the map, yet I know that it's virtually 100% christian. If there are any atheists, wiccans or muslims around here, they keep a very low profile. If any county should be dark red, it would be this one. I am also very familiar with other heavily christian counties in central Texas that are pale yellow on the map. My theory is that the researchers did not, as someone suggested above, count the thousands of completely independent baptist and pentecostal churches in these southern counties - churches unaffiliated with any larger organization. The map seems to tilt toward areas where large, well-organized religious institutions predominate - Mormon Utah, Catholic Massachussetts, etc. [..]

For those who equate evangelical christianity with conservative politics, this county - as evangelical as any in the country - has NEVER voted republican in a presidential election. The only time it was even close was in 1984, when the dems nominated a woman VP candidate (Reagan came within a couple hundred votes of carrying the county). If you check the census data for Tyler County, TX you'll see there's a lot of poverty and a large percentage of african-americans, and economic issues override social issues for most of them. We'll see how Hillary does here.

I am a democrat too, but personally cannot, in good conscience, vote for a pro-choice candidate. Most of my baptist brethren are also democrats but manage to rationalize it somehow. They choose to vote their pocketbook instead of their Bible. [..]

Interesting stuff, Eltejano! I love it when people just kind of testify about the places they live in.. kind of like observational micro-analysis or something, from just an individual perspective.. far more interesting than the usual argumentational to and fro between cons and libs about those handful of hot button issues that dominate threads, with ever the same arguments over and again.

Also like the way in which you have a strong belief/position (on abortion), but talk about it in a self-aware way, rather than pontificating, and how you keep your good humour.. I dont agree at all with you take on the Dem primary (Al Gore!?), but wishing you a hearty welcome to this site! Hope you stick around (and keep your cool ;-)

rosborne979 wrote:

real life wrote:

Romney used to be pro-abortion, but has changed his view. I think pro-lifers ought to endorse that type of change. That is what we want to see , isn't it?

Or maybe he didn't change his true opinion at all, but just changed his public stance on the issue (to get more votes). Are you sure you know what he believes? Do you know what any of the candidates really believe, or do you simply accept their public persona as it stands.

You may be right. Perhaps he is (in his own mind and heart) still pro-abortion.

But as long as he governs as a pro-life public official, I do not care what his private beliefs are.