Religion still shapes daily life across huge parts of the US, from Sunday opening hours to dry counties to the sheer number of churches you’ll pass on a single drive through town. But just how religious a state is varies more than you’d think, and it doesn’t always line up with the political map you’re picturing.
This ranking uses Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study, the gold standard for this kind of data. Pew surveyed nearly 37,000 adults across all 50 states and DC between July 2023 and March 2024, then scored each person on four measures: how often they pray, whether they believe in God or a universal spirit, how important religion is in their life, and how often they attend religious services. Anyone scoring in the top quartile overall was classed as “highly religious.” The rankings below are based on the percentage of each state’s adults who fall into that highly religious group.
The 20 Most Religious States
1. Mississippi – 50%
Mississippi tops every single one of Pew’s four measures. 61% say religion is very important to them, 62% pray daily, and 74% believe in God or a universal spirit with absolute certainty.
2. South Carolina – 46%
The Palmetto State’s religiosity runs deep through its Southern Baptist and Methodist roots, with over half of residents saying religion plays a very important role in their lives.
3. Louisiana – 45%
A near-even split between Catholic and Protestant traditions gives Louisiana a religious character that’s distinct from its Bible Belt neighbours, but the overall numbers land it in a tie for third.
4. South Dakota – 45%
The only Midwestern state to crack the top three, South Dakota’s religiosity is driven heavily by weekly church attendance rather than daily prayer.
5. Utah – 42%
Home to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Utah’s religiosity looks different to the Bible Belt states above it, built more around belief and weekly practice than daily personal prayer.
6. North Carolina – 41%
Just over half of North Carolinians (51%) say religion is very important in their lives, and 65% believe in God with absolute certainty, giving the state a strong Bible Belt profile despite its fast-growing, increasingly urban population.
7. Alabama – 40%
Alabama posts one of the highest “belief in God” scores in the country at 66%, with roughly half of residents (51%) saying religion is very important to them.
8. Arkansas – 40%
Arkansas ties Mississippi and Louisiana for one of the highest daily prayer rates in the nation at 58%, reflecting its deep Southern Baptist and evangelical roots.
9. Georgia – 38%
More than half of Georgians (56%) pray daily, and 66% believe in God or a universal spirit, numbers driven heavily by the state’s large evangelical and historically Black Protestant congregations.
10. Kansas – 38%
Kansas splits fairly evenly across denominations, with 63% believing in God, a more moderate profile than its Bible Belt neighbours to the south.
11. North Dakota – 38%
North Dakota’s religiosity leans on regular church attendance (43%) more than daily prayer (41%), shaped by its strong Lutheran and Catholic heritage among descendants of Scandinavian and German settlers.
12. Oklahoma – 38%
Oklahoma ties for the 10th most religious state overall, with 61% believing in God with absolute certainty and a religious makeup that’s about 70% Christian, largely evangelical Protestant.
13. Idaho – 37%
Idaho’s religious identity is shaped significantly by its Latter-day Saint population in the eastern part of the state, alongside a broader evangelical Christian presence elsewhere.
14. Kentucky – 37%
53% of Kentuckians pray daily and 66% believe in God, reflecting the state’s strong Southern Baptist and evangelical traditions, especially outside Louisville and Lexington.
15. Indiana – 36%
Indiana’s profile is fairly middle-of-the-road nationally, with 45% praying daily and 56% believing in God, spread across a mix of Catholic, Baptist, and Methodist communities.
16. Texas – 36%
Despite its size and diversity, Texas holds a fairly consistent religious profile statewide, with 45% saying religion is very important and 62% believing in God, driven by large evangelical and Catholic populations.
17. Virginia – 35%
Virginia’s religiosity is fairly evenly spread, with 47% praying daily, reflecting a mix of Southern Baptist tradition in the south of the state and more secular, urban populations around DC.
18. New Mexico – 34%
New Mexico’s religious character leans heavily Catholic thanks to its Spanish colonial history, with 49% praying daily despite a lower overall “very important” score (41%).
19. Missouri – 33%
Missouri sits almost exactly at the national midpoint on most measures, with 44% praying daily and 55% believing in God, split between its more religious rural areas and secular urban centres like St. Louis and Kansas City.
20. Montana – 33%
Montana’s religiosity (33%) is on par with Missouri’s, but attendance is notably lower at just 33%, suggesting belief here often runs more personal than communal.
At the other end of the scale, Vermont sits at just 13% highly religious, with New Hampshire (15%) and Maine (17%) close behind. That’s the widest gap in the study: Mississippi has roughly four times the share of highly religious adults as Vermont does.
A Surprising Twist
You’d assume religiosity tracks neatly onto the red state/blue state map, but the data doesn’t quite back that up. Utah, one of the most reliably Republican-voting states in the country, has seen its religiously unaffiliated population jump to 34%, well above the national average of 29%. And a few states that voted for Trump in 2024, including Iowa, Nevada and Alaska, actually rank closer to the bottom half of the religiosity table than the top. Politics and personal faith clearly move on different tracks.
What This Means If You’re Travelling There
For anyone exploring the more religious corners of the country, a few practical things are worth knowing before you go:
- Sundays can be quieter than expected. In parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and rural Utah, some restaurants, shops, and attractions close or run reduced hours on Sunday mornings while services are on. Worth checking ahead if you’re planning brunch.
- Dry counties still exist. Mississippi and several other Southern states have counties where alcohol sales are restricted or banned entirely, a hangover from older temperance laws tied to religious tradition. Always worth a quick check if you’re planning a wine or bar stop.
- Church architecture is part of the sightseeing. In the Bible Belt and Utah, historic churches and temples are often genuinely worth building time into your itinerary, not just as landmarks but as a way of understanding the local culture.
- It shapes conversation, not just custom. In the highly religious states, faith tends to come up naturally in everyday chat with locals. It’s usually a warm, unguarded topic rather than an awkward one, but good to be ready for it.
Amanda O’Brien is the creator and editor of The Boutique Adventurer. She has visited 80 countries and is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers as well as the IFTWTA. She is passionate about wine had has just completed Level 3 of the WSET. Born in Australia, she lives in London.