Massachusetts among least religious states

Good.

Massachusetts has one of the highest average IQs of these United States
Massachusetts has one of the highest rates of education (with advanced degrees)
Massachusetts is one of the leading states in inventions and patents

Massachusetts is tied for the third least religious states. Go figure

What a shock..!

Good to know. I'll stay away from the dark green states full of ignorant inbreds who wish for jesus ponies to return with their rapture.

And I thought it was just me...

Hmmmm. High IQ, high rate of education, not very religious. Makes perfect sense to me.

Hmm. The "least religious" list includes all six New England state and the two Pacific Northwest states .... but also Alaska and Nevada. Not much cultural similarity there!

When you go back and look at the election map: 'dark green' = red states.
I am surprised at the Alaska result. I thought that all Alaskians were like Ms. Palin.
To the ones who are shocked:
Well, you can be a liberal and decent at the same time. :-) Actually, both go hand in hand.
Look at Utah that has a high rate of wife battering and death as a result of it. Women there live like women with 'rights' from the Ancient Ages - and this in the country that holds freedom so high. - Maybe someone would like to write about this.

Yeah.. GOOD. This is one of the best reasons to live here. The graph is great. It could also be a graph of productivity, crime, IQ, test scores, etc etc etc. It would look exactly the same. The worse the place the more religion..

And I thought being "religious" meant that there were standards of conduct... morality.. and all that.

How do those religious states account for their high divorce rates? Massachusetts has one of the lowest in the nation. Several of the dark green states can't seem to get their marriage act together.

How do these religious states explain their lack of charity? (Massachusetts gets less that $1 back from the feds for each dollar sent. The bulk of states in dark green suck from the federal troth - getting more than their dollar ).

So far, I see no clear advantage to being "religious".

Not all religious people are ignorant inbreds, nor are all atheists / agnostics intelligent. I say this as an atheist.

Well, look at all the bigots who think religious people are stupid. You guys are out in force today. I like living in New England, but being surrounded by self-obsessed, intolerant, prejudiced, stereotyping left-wing ignorami is far from my favorite part.

we are also the 2nd smartest, interesting

http://www.statestats.com/edrank06.htm

One of the reasons I am glad I was born here, and continue to live here. I honestly could never live in the so called bible belt and listen to them.

Mark R.'s post is right on the mark. Perhaps the Gallup Poll wasn't specific in regards to the differences between religious and spiritual. the difference in my mind is religion makes much ado about external rituals, the spiritual focuses on the inner. Or that the external practitioner is always talking to God, while the spiritual practitioner is actually listening.

Just found out that the four states with the highest murder rates are same four states that are most religious: Miss., AL., TN. and LA.. Go figure...

This is why the rest of the country calls us M*ssholes. Gofigure and everyone who commented likewise are part of the elitist, snobbish, i know better than thee pompous attitude that smells to high, well, i was going to say high heavens. Galileo, Newton, and Copernicus were religious-do all you commenters think you know more than they?''

MA doesn't lead the league in being smart, it leads in being the
pseudo-intelligentian, the self congratulators, the wow, ain't i special kids, the ones who think of and call themselves the best and the brightest, and mean it--no humility.

The fact of the matter is that there is no reason that religious faith and educated intelligence can't co-exist. I think the main reason MA is like it is now is that Puritanism, and then pre-Vatican II Catholicism, were so smothering, that a good part of the state wanted none of it. Besides, more than half in MA still said religion is an important part of their daily life.

wow anne smith. you wonder why the rest of the country believes there is Eastern elitism?? where's the liberal tolerance in that intolerant statement??

As an Alaskan, I can say we aren't surprised by the Alaska result. We'd previously been pegged as the "least churchgoing" GOP state. Alaskans are independent-minded, not necessarily prone to joining things like churches and also very often very far from relatives and close family who can keep one going to church. And nobody wants to give up a good summer weekend for church when outdoor activities beckon. Sarah Palin's Wasilla happens to be a hotbed of churchgoing in Alaska. In Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, it isn't such a big deal.

When you see the word "intolerance" what usually preceeds it?

Nice to be a New Englander. But what about the other 48%?

I'm originally from California but have lived in Mass for a decade now. Calif is also not very religious, but never there did I feel the disdain and disgust toward Christianity that I do here. I'd like to think that highly educated, intelligent people wouldn't stereotype or assume that everyone of a certain religion is a fundamentalist wacko, but they seem to here.

Also, it doesn't help that it's extremely difficult to find churches here that are interesting, inspirational, educational, or up with the times.

It's hard to believe in God with this much snow!

I think the survey in part is due to old-fashioned Yankee traints of not being overly religious and feeling the need to wear it on our sleeves. I suspect there are many religous people in new england, but they tend to be very private about it compared to our neighbors down south.

Gaudete, yes there is a reason that religious faith and educated intelligence don't coexist and correlate negatively. It's because religious faith is you taking what you are told at face value and believing it, and educated intelligence is you questioning everything you are told by anyone and everyone.

Not surprising that friendly Southerners have the deepest faith. It is also not surprising that the so-called "tolerant" New Englanders can call people from other parts of the country "ignorant". Ever been to Southie, folks?

Thanks for confirming my stereotype of Massachusetts people as intolerent, ignorant, anti-religious elitists. I just moved here from "flyover" country as you people call it and it's unfortunate but strangely comforting to have my anecdotal impressions confirmed.

I am not necessarily embarrassed about living in a "least religious" state. Whether you worship is your business, not mine.
I am, however, embarrassed by the intolerance displayed by some of the people commenting here. Tolerance works both ways, folks.

I spent a good deal of time in those bible belt states for work and while I was there many of my friends from up here told me continue to tell me, various forms of the "Oh I could never live amongst those people." kind of statements. Most were not quite so pleasant as that. Interestingly while I was there, I did not hear word one about any kind of southern animosity toward "those yankees", as it were. Now.. I'm not so naive as to think it doesn't exist, but at the very least they didn't express it in such a hostile manner as some of the postings on this board. No, in fact my experience was nothing but pleasant. I've learned one thing. How you are treated depends greatly on how you treat others. Do unto others.. golden rule etc... hmmm.... sounds vaguely religous.

In response to #17...

"Liberal" and "hypocrite" are one in the same.

As for the inverse relationship between intelligence and religiousness being commented on, the majority of the Ivy League universities maintained religious affiliations early in their histories - Harvard was founded by Puritans and first used the motto "Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae " meaning "Truth for Christ and the Church."

Before liberals start making judgments, it might be prudent to learn some history first...

Hey Gaudette, you are calling out the intelligence of others and then say "Besides, more than half in MA still said religion is an important part of their daily life.", when the poll above clearly shows it is only 48%, which obviously is less than 50%

Also, Newton was religious, to an extent, he was also certifiably insane, though a genius all the same. And using scientists who have been dead since long before Darwin was alive is a little misleading. Of course they were religious as there was no proof of anything else.

Next I am sure you are going to throw out some right wing absurdity and try to claim that Hitler was an atheist as well.

You still don't address the fact that MA is among the best educated, healthiest and weathiest states in the country, along with having the lowest divorce rate and one of the lowest teen pregnancy rates and Boston's murder/violent crime rate is extremely low for a large city. None of which any of the most religious states can say.

That is interesting, but why? What happened to the Pilgrims? Blue Laws? And all the beautiful churches?

Gaudette, I am surprised that the moderator of this discussion allowed your spewing of hate and name calling to be posted.

We would prefer that you focus on the facts and attempt to explain the data if you disagree with the observations of those who responded. Can you explain the map that interestingly appears to match the level of education, intelligence results, etc? When the data is there for all to see, it is not pseudo, or elite thinking, it is fact.

Why not try to refute the observations that people are making?

I would rather that you would have observed that maybe the people of these states are more reserved about professing their religion or something like that, rather than spewing right wing hate and name calling.

I noticed that you didn't even come up with your own insults. You repeated the same old tired talk show garbage. At least you could try to be creative. If you carry on like this all of the time, I am sure those around you would wish you would simply shut up and keep your ignorance to yourself. We love our state and wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

It's scary that only a small part of the country is thinking straight.

If you want to read and outstanding analysis of the high correlation between religiousness and intolerance, ignorance, even racism in modern America, look for “Letter to a Christian nation” by Sam Harris. The most socially advanced countries like Sweden, Finland, and Japan are the less religious.
It’s a shame the largest industrialized country is still highly influenced by religion. Northeast is a haven for tolerant, conscious, self-aware people.

That's why I love New England. There is nothing wrong with being religious, but there should be a separation of church and state and in New England you tend to have that. That is why New England tends to be socially liberal because religion doesn't play a big role in state laws. Some people on this blog say New Englanders are intolerant. If you want to witness intolerance go live in the southern region of the country which, not surprisingly, is the most religious area of the US. I have lived there and religion plays such a big role influencing state laws, that intolerance tends to win out. If you're not part of the white, religious, straight society, you lose.

The least educated are most dependent on the balm of religion to give them hope, for there is no greater poverty than ignorance. It is not that educated individuals do not appreciate the solace religion affords them, it is just that they understand god most helps those that are most able to help themselves. As for Alaskans, they live in one of the most glorious areas of gods' creation why cut oneself off from gods' glory listening to the ranting or droning of a mere mortal on a pulpit reading what persons can read for themselves if they use the brain god provided them.

"A religion is a set of stories, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to an ultimate power or reality." -Wikipedia

Who cares if your neighbor is religious? Religious expressions, such as going to church, can foster a sense of community, solidarity, and spirituality, which one may or may not be able to find elsewhere.

So long as one group is not trying to force their religion or lack thereof upon anybody else, who really cares about this cultural anomoly?

Atheist Alaskan: I am glad you mentioned that. I have met many people from Alaska and liked most of them.....enter Sarah Palin. Just not sure how she got elected there ?

Hahhahaaaaa... religious wackos are so defensive.

The truth hurts, plain and simple. Religion can definitely co-exist peacefully with intellectualism and liberalism and all the rest.

It's just that most of the time... it doesn't.

And if you can't see that or admit it to yourself chances are really, really high that you are one of the many religious nutballs that cannot reconcile those two things.

I think MA is full of people who live life by their religious beliefs. Most. They just think of being religious as going to church or church events. So they say they are not religious - but religious beliefs are a very important part of the way they make decisions every day. To their advantage most of the time.

I think the question means a different thing to people in the North than it means to people in the South.

Massachusetts is one of the more diverse areas of the country. This part of the country is also where large numbers of Europeans have, and still immigrate to. The US & Europe is becoming more atheist/agnostic as generations pass on. Very similar to the US, the southern parts tend to be more religious (Italy/Spain/Portugal); while the further North you go (Scandinavian countries, The Netherlands) the less predominant religion becomes. These figures don't represent anything good or bad, it's showing our evolution as more and more people are becoming free thinkers. Additionally, religion is neither good nor bad - it's like anything else that is taken in excess; it becomes dangerous.

I don't see why people here are bashing religion. It may not be for you, but is it really fair to judge somebody because they are religious?

It sounds like those that are ignorant of religion seem to be afraid of it.

It's also funny how people think that Massachusetts is "educated". Sure, people here might be educated, but from my experience, they certainly aren't that intelligent. Just look at how the people here whine about Deval Patrick raising taxes.

Thank you to all the self asorbed, conceited, agnostics/athiests who have enlightened me here. I'm not especially religious myself, but I have friends and family who are. If I didn't read these comments I would never know that they are all ignorant, intolerant, racist murderers.

Man-made global warming is a religion. So adding those numbers into the mix, Massachusetts has 48% worshiping God and the other 52% worshiping Al Gore.

Yeah, let's talk about history. When people from other parts of the country call us elitist, anti-religious snobs, they should be reminded: we did the fundamentalist thing already and it sucked. Yup, the Bay State already did the intolerant theocracy crap back in the days when most of the country was forest or swamp, and let's see what we got out of letting the Puritans run things: massacred Indians, phony witch trials and executions, and the British finally sending over the troops to straighten us out (at our expense) for a hundred years.

No thanks, Bible Belt.

Anyone who has ever been in the South understands that those crackers don't have very much to cling to, except God and guns. You'd be praying and attending those whacked-out mega churches throughout the Bible Belt too if you were married to your brother, sister, first cousin and had to endure all the y'alls and tobacco chewing and toothless neighbors that seem to come with territory south of the Mason Dixon line. The movie "Deliverance" was non-fiction!

cdunlea and NewEnglander... let me guess... public education?

To all of you arrogent Massholes...Enstein was deeply spiritual and felt that there was a direct connection between a divine creator and the creation of the universe. And the last time I checked, he was smarter than any of you pseudo intellectuals in Massachusetts who feel like because you live down the road from MIT that somehow makes you smart. The country was founded on Christian principles by our founding fathers who were also spiritual. Most of this country's problems have resulted from the fact that we have lost our spiritual and moral mooring, not just the lay people but many in the clergy as well.

Like it or not, we are all part of each other and of God. Many of you who refuse to acknowedge such display ignorance of the nature of your own being.

I am thrilled to live someplace where religion does not dominate people's thoughts. Sadly, though, Massachusetts still practices a severe strain of puritanism mixed with punitive Catholicism in its medieval divorce laws that force lifetime alimony on almost every man in the state who makes over $50 or $60K. Divorced men who pay alimony have no legal right to retire and have their payments lowered. These laws put men in jail (regularly) who do not have money to pay exorbitant sums of alimony; that force 80 year old men with cancer and heart problems to continue paying alimony to women who have been working for the 30 years since the marriage ended (the husband having sent her to graduate school); that treat the children of second marriages as lessor than the children of first marriages; that treat second wives as lessor beings than first wives; that reward lawyers for making divorce more acrimonious and far more costly than it needs to be.
The state's divorce laws are a national disgrace and should encourage people to leave, to tell their sons NEVER to settle here and marry. To read about the laws of this otherwise extremely enlightened place, please go here www.massalimonyreform.org and then write or call your legislator and ask him or her to support true alimony reform.

We are irreligious heathens 'round these parts. But our marriages work - with an extremely low divorce rate - our people are healthy - we have a great education system, one of the best in the world - a comparatively low unemployment rate - an extremely low unintended pregnancy and abortion rate - and a comparatively healthy economy.
Contrary to what conservatives seem to believe, it seems that the lesson of this study is that morality inversely correlates with overt religiosity. It could perhaps be inferred that those who constantly talk about morality have far less actual morality than those who shut up about it and let other people alone to pursue their happiness.

The largest part of the problem for all New England's lost soles who feel spiritual knowledge is associated with ignorance, is that you get disenchanted with organized religions "superstructure", and its associated transgressions either past or present, and proceed to throw out the baby with the bath... negating knowledge of the physical, mental and spiritual nature of your being. The difference between Religion and spirituality is the formal presents a structure for you to believe in, the latter presents a path for you to experience your connection with the divine yourself

Your ignorance of your relationship with the divine is your loss. Its the only thing that is eternal. And the people in the South will have that over the arrogent northeast all day long.

At least New Englanders are not hypocrites like the "religious faithful" of the Bible Belt.

Someone mentioned Einstein. Didn't Einstein once say that "God doesn't roll dice."
I also think that many of our highbrow universities and colleges in the area have operating churches, chapels and spiritual spaces. Did 4 billion years of randomness and chance get us to where we are today? I'm not so sure, and I'm one of those scientist types most of you are criticizing here.

Many of the people commenting here are being close-minded. Just to let some of you know, the map only tells you part of the story and was not created to correlate religion and quality of life. Some of you need to realize that this country was founded on religious freedom and, admittedly, so do many religious Americans. Many of you are trying to look at the downside of religion as opposed to looking at it more objectively. I'm not particularly religious myself, but it definitely makes me sick when people refuse to see things through another's perspective. If you ask me, religious people and atheists use religion as a scapegoat for the problems of humanity. I believe all the problems of the world would still exist in some form or another with or without religion.

A-yup, that's a mighty impressive display of intelligent discourse, insight and open-minded discourse there, NewEnglander. And all this time when people said Massachusetts is known for its chowder I thought they were referring to the soup.

While I am not particularly religious, the abuse of religion in general by the overwhelming number of previous posts is embarrassing for our state. For a state that prides itself on being progressive, it just shows that people are people and that anywhere you go, foolish intolerance reigns supreme no matter which side of the fence you choose sit.

Jim K:

"It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it." (Albert Einstein, 1954, The Human Side, edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press)

"I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature. "(Albert Einstein, The World as I See It)

"The idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I am unable to take seriously." (Albert Einstein, Letter to Hoffman and Dukas, 1946)

"I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no superhuman authority behind it." (Albert Einstein, The Human Side)
At best, Einstein, like most of our founding fathers was a deist. He in no way beleived in a personal god who required worship or eternal salvataion or any of that crap. He was spiritual in that he was awed by the wonders of the Universe but never accepted a divine creator

To be fair, though, he wasn't a big fan of Atheist either:

"I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being." (Albert Einstein)

Thank god, but especially jesus..

It would seem the folks from Mass. have spoken and made their views quite clear in this comments section. And if I had to chose between 'bible thumpers' and the so called tolerant 'Liberals', I would chose the religious types every time.

13. WROTE:

we are also the 2nd smartest, interesting

http://www.statestats.com/edrank06.htm
-----------------------
Yeah, clearly. that why the oh so smart people of the Commondearth of Hackachusetts keep voting these same criminals into orifice year after year after year....

This Board sort of reminds me of the story of the fall of Satan, who arrogantly challenged God's intellect and substance, and sucked Eve into being seduced by the "tree of knowledge". Some things never change. Not much humility on this thread.

I'm leading the way, baby!

rlynden, can you please tell me a state that isn't chock full of corrupt politicians? MA is certainly not alone, or even exceptional in that aspect

I think we need to remember that many of the people who moved up to Alaska did so to escape the establishment, to live as they please. It would stand to reason they aren't much for organized religions either.

If you want to embrace 'god's how do you know which set to embrace? Every culture in history had a set of gods. We have one dominant set of gods today (the judeo-christian God), but what makes that the right god? I don't embrace religion. I'll say that up front, but even if you do, how do you know that your's is right? Can you really say that everyone else is wrong? If you say you embrace spirituality, I won't argue with that, but once you embrace one facet of religion, when there are so many others... I can't see how you can accept all the people throughout time who have been good people trying to do what they think is right., will burn in hell.

And if they won't burn in hell, how can those of us who don't embrace a set of gods, but still live by a strong ethical code do worse? I guess my point is that if you are religious, that is fine, but do you have the room in your hearts for all of us who aren't? If we live well and care for each other, is there a need to evangelize? I don't see much day to day religious cramming down one another's throats until a discussion like this comes up. I'd prefer this sort of thing stop.

OK, so Massachusetts is a great state and all, but what about Nevada? Reno and Vegas are not exactly what I'd call low crime areas.

Pride comes before the fall.

It's really amazing that for such a "forward looking" state, we are overwhelmingly intolerant of religion and hence those who believe in any organized religion. While I'm not religious, I envy those that are as numerous studies have shown that people who attend church or synagogue, etc. at least once a month are happier and feel more connected to a broader community than those who don't care about religion. Whether there ultimately is a God or you disappear into the dust when you die, you will probably live 80 +/- years, so why not find some peace and happiness along the way. For all of our sophistication, it's evident in day to day life around here that most of us could use a little more happiness. Simple as that!

Its a shame that people take this conversation and turn it into such an elitist argument. The fact is that religion and education are not mutually exclusive, as is evidenced by the Jesuit tradition at Boston College and Holy Cross. Tolerance and religion are not different concepts; the most religious people in my life, my grandmother and my great aunt, were also among the most tolerant. There is a difference between fundamentalism and religious, and those that take away the true meaning from organized religion can be made a lot better off by it. Please don't espouse the learned nature of Massachusetts because we as a state choose not to attend church, it is just as judgmental as the fundamentalism that exists elsewhere in the country, only it seemingly creates millions of gods instead of one.

Whatever gets you through the day, I say. Have faith in God, a goddess, the Universe, a star...whatever. Doesn't matter to me. As long as everybody understands that religious freedom means ALL religion...or none at all.

I do believe there is a correlation between higher IQ/more education and religious beliefs, but I'm not convinced it's all about how intelligent a person is. Nothing is ever that simple.

And about that "masshole" thing...it's old. It's tired. We've heard it a million times. Please spare us your lack of creativity.

Reading the comments here....

Tribalism at its best.

Well, I was born, raised and educated in MA, but I really enjoy living in east TN now...how much do you want to bet that Anne Smith is a Rosie O'Donnell look alike?

The survey does speak volumes and it is interesting to analyze. I wonder if it can be surmised that the key to accepting Gay marriage requires a state to be Godless.

Or are these results misleading?

With grace & respect for all self-proclaimed intellectuals, the lifelong pursuit of truth and knowledge ultimately leads to the discovery of God's infinity, so try not to settle for what you know today as absolute; keep on seeking truth and looking for answers until your last breath!

Davdev:
In developing the theory of relativity, Einstein realized that the equations led to the conclusion that the universe had a beginning. He didn't like the idea of a beginning, because he thought one would have to conclude that the universe was created by God. So, he added a cosmological constant to the equation to attempt to get rid of the beginning. He said this was one of the worst mistakes of his life. Of course, the results of Edwin Hubble confirmed that the universe was expanding and had a beginning at some point in the past. So, Einstein became a deist - a believer in an impersonal creator God:

"I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings."

However, it would also seem that Einstein was not an atheist, since he also complained about being put into that camp:

"In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views."

He believed in God.

Case Closed

Some people seem to forget that there can be a hug gap between "tolerance" and "taking seriously". I can tolerate LaRouchians, UFO cultists, Bigfoot believers, and the religious. Doesn't mean I have to take them seriously.

Of course every one of us is entitled to our opinion here. Maybe the real question is what God thinks of this.

"There is nothing wrong with being religious, but there should be a separation of church and state and in New England you tend to have that"

You do realize this is a Christian principle?

Some of my favorite bible verses...
Ephesians 6:5
1 Corinthians 14:34-35
1 Timothy 2:9
Deuteronomy 23:1

What a useless relic of a bygone era. I wonder if any of the bible thumping people have actually read their bible?

About two-thirds of scientists believe in God, according to a new survey that uncovered stark differences based on the type of research they do.

The study, along with another one released in June, would appear to debunk the oft-held notion that science is incompatible with religion.

Those in the social sciences are more likely to believe in God and attend religious services than researchers in the natural sciences, the study found.

The opposite had been expected.

Nearly 38 percent of natural scientists -- people in disciplines like physics, chemistry and biology -- said they do not believe in God. Only 31 percent of the social scientists do not believe.

In the new study, Rice University sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund surveyed 1,646 faculty members at elite research universities, asking 36 questions about belief and spiritual practices.

"Based on previous research, we thought that social scientists would be less likely to practice religion than natural scientists are, but our data showed just the opposite," Ecklund said.

Some stand-out stats: 41 percent of the biologists don't believe, while that figure is just 27 percent among political scientists.

In separate work at the University of Chicago, released in June, 76 percent of doctors said they believed in God and 59 percent believe in some sort of afterlife.

"Now we must examine the nature of these differences," Ecklund said today. "Many scientists see themselves as having a spirituality not attached to a particular religious tradition. Some scientists who don't believe in God see themselves as very spiritual people. They have a way outside of themselves that they use to understand the meaning of life."

HI Jim, I believe I said that Einstein was a deist, and didn't like to be grouped with Athiests, but your case is certainly not closed.
Spinoza's God is certainly not a god that most traditional religions would recognize. Spinoza's God is not in fact a being at all. It is his ideas that Nature is in itself the ultimate power. There is a begining and Nature is it's own creator. In a sense you could say Spinoza's God is Mother Nature, though obviously he wouldn't put it that way.

What dumb *ss study would think the Social Scientists would be less religious than Natural Scientists. So they went into the study thinking they would find more Athiest Economists than Biologists? That is absurd in and of itself. I would also love a link to the study as I highly doubt only 41% of biologists don't believe.
Oh, and and as much as they like to think so, Political Scientists and Economists are not scientists, as much as they like to think they are. There opinions on God and actual Science are no more valid than the average person on the street

This might explain why Massachusetts is in the bottom fifth when it comes to charitable giving despite having the third highest per-capita income.

I just noticed that with the exception of Nevada, which is a state built on artificiality and godlessness, everywhere with low religion results is far north and cold, where as everywhere with heavy religious concentration is warm year-round. Perhaps its just easier to believe in a God when it's nice and toasty where you live.

What the analysis (or, more accurately, the summary above), and many of the comments that have followed, do not do is distinguish amongst different religions and their accompanying practices. The distinctions are critical to the issue.

The "most religious" states embrace certain religions or sects that are often labeled evangelical or fundamentalist. The current practice of these religions discourages liberal education and pits religion as the adversary of science, liberal thought and the like.

Other religions do not force such a stark choice upon their adherents, and in many cases believe religion and secular education can be joined for a greater understanding of the wonders of both. Judaism, Catholicism and the more subdued strains of Protestantism meet this standard...and those happen to be the religions that are more prevelant in the "liberal" and "smarter" states.

The salient issue is less the presence of religion versus a complete lack of it; rather, it's the intensity and ubiquity of religion in all aspects of daily operating life that seems to correlate negatively with educational achievement, tolerance for differing views, lifestyles and the "other." Look to the world of Islam -- the countries that are of most concern to the US generally seem to be Islamofacist theocracies; practicioners of moderate Islam are more stable and less a threat.

One thing to remember. No one gets out of earth alive. We will all die. I am not terribly religious myself but I am smart enough to know I was created by the one who came here and died for me, Jesus Christ. He wasn't very religious either.
He happens to God. He came unto His own and was rejected. But to as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. Even to those who believe on His name. Sorry to hear about Massachusetts.

The article says relilgion so why single out christianity in the comment section. Read your history books the founding of this nation start when the pilgrims came to the new england because of religious persectution in there native country. Since then many other religious groups have come here for the same reason.

Perhaps in Massachusetts and other "less religious" states we simply allow ourselves to doubt and question, and take it for granted that others will do the same. I attend a Saturday-morning study session at a large suburban synagogue and most of the participants are highly educated (many in science), religiously knowledgeable, socially liberal, and attend one or more worship services every week. During one session recently, the topic of religious doubt was raised, and at least one-third of the group acknowledged they did not have a traditional belief in God. Clearly, religion is "important" in their lives, but, as they say, "God is in the details."

i feel sorry for people who don't believe in God.
What empty and meaningless lives they must lead.

Perhaps this is why none of our politicians feels guilt for their crimes and failures?

This article is silly. What's the point ?

Thank God!!! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! but Jesus H. Christ Massachusetts, you gone an embarrassed us again. First it was Dukakis, then the Pedarists, the Bulgers, John Kerry and now this! Yikes, next thing you know we'll be damned for having the least number of tacky lights on our houses during those religious holidays that come in December each year..

How about the fact that Massachusetts (and most of New England states) is leading the country in negative population growth and that corporations continue to leave en mass?
People arent leaving just b/c the weather stinks. The intolerance displayed in this blog by all the so called "smartest" has everything to do w/ how screwed up Massachusetts is and will continue to be - keep telling yourselves that your the "Hub" ......

The largest part of the problem for all New England's lost soles who feel spiritual knowledge is associated with ignorance, is that you get disenchanted with organized religions "superstructure", and its associated transgressions either past or present, and proceed to throw out the baby with the bath... negating knowledge of the physical, mental and spiritual nature of your being. Most of this country's problems have resulted from the fact that we have lost our spiritual and moral mooring, not just the lay people but some in the clergy as well.

The difference between Religion and spirituality is the formal presents a structure for you to believe in, the latter presents a path for you to experience your connection with the divine yourself

Their ignorance of your relationship with the divine is their loss. Its the only thing that is eternal. And the people in the South will have that over the arrogent northeast all day long.

Like it or not, we are all part of each other and of God. Many of you who refuse to acknowedge such display ignorance of the nature of your own being.

I have enjoyed reading all the comments, even those I disagree with because most have given me a good laugh.

However, there are sadly those bigots like Anne Smith (post # 4) who harbor obvious ill will towards those who have a belief in Jesus and tend to think that if you live in the South and have religion part of your daily life that you are an inbred.

Just because you may consider yourself more intelligent, more attractive (except maybe in Ms. Smith's case), and have a fatter bank account than your southern neighbors makes no excuse to show the elitist and humanist attitude towards those who do not.

As a matter of fact, I applaud the poster who reminded us that the highest per capita contributors to charitable causes in the United States are from the South and if I'm not mistaken, we here in Massachusetts are near, if not at, the bottom of the list.

Like someone once said, we are on this earth for a very short time, let's hope that when it comes time to meet our Maker that we have earned the right to enjoy the eternal life following our mortal one.

The chosen One # 79. Boy are you lost (or should I say "girl".) Bible thumpers as you quote them are very well read thank you, enough to know and differentiate passgaes meant to reflect the social norms of he times (all the passages you quoted" from spiritual trithrs meant to transend time. May I recommend that search for your direct connection with a loving God by focusing on the four gospels instead of cherry picking passages that were meant for their time to negate the entire bible.

Just because you are lost in the fog of your own misinterpretation, pls dont drag other innocents down with you.

Davdev #81. I summit, your interpretation of Einsteins beliefs were more accurate than mine.

Thank you for the clarification.
Jim

Thank God

Amen. And let all the zealots judge and label us. Sadly for them, good is good does not talks, judges and goes to Church each Sunday.

Enough of the religious right and their anti-Science anti-intellectual nonsense that got us into this mess.

Live and let live.

I am a dyed-in-the-wool New Englander living in Georgia. For one thing, being the second "smartest" state means nothing. . .look at the concentration of population in Georgia and other large, mostly rural states vs. MA. I think these state comparisons should be made between metro areas. . .I'd love to compare you Northeast snobs with the brains at Georgia Tech, Emory and the CDC.

With regard to religion, I would have like to see the numbers before the Catholic Church scandal. Not that Catholicism is the only religion, but there are plenty of Irish and Italians there who I'll bet left the flock after that.

I miss New England every day, but I do not miss the northeast snobs and generalizations they make about other groups.

Correlation or causation?

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Graphic-shows-overall-grade-keeping-good-teachers-and-getting-rid/photo//090129/480/ed5fdded25a7457ea94531e2b065628b//s:/ap/20090129/ap_on_re_us/teacher_quality

Compare the maps.

This is sad. Hopefully more people will find the way before it's too late.

Pretty funny.....substitute the words "gay" or "black" for "Christian" or "religious" on this board and see how very hateful and intolerant some of these "elitist" and "enlightened" posters really are. The only group in which discrimination and hatred is out and out endorsed and apparently accepted by some of the geniuses on this board is against those who are religious. How very sad they feel compelled to knock 48 percent of their fellow citizens for their beliefs.

And, the reason why contributions to charities in Mass pales in comparison to most of the rest of the country is because many liberals in this state demand that the government pony up to support their "social service program" du jour. I mean, why support something out of your own pocket when you can demand that others cover for you.

#79 I hate it when people do that. That's like if I picked up a random book, read a few lines out of it and if I think it sounds dumb, then I put it back down and decide not to read it. What if I'm missing out on a great book? Stop trying to prove that Christians are ignorant when you haven't even done your research.

And @pragmatist, I know that it's unfair for all the good doing people to go to hell. But you know, the difference between Christianity and other religions is that Christianity isn't a religion that can be made up. Some crazy dude can't just come up with it. (And I KNOW there's going to be some nut out there that will be like, "How do you know that someone didn't make this up yada yada yada" but that's a whole 'nother spiel that I won't start). So because some guy didn't come up with it, Christianity IS the way it is. (If you catch my drift..). You're making it sound like we can change what we believe and it'll happen but we can't. The Bible says that Jesus is the ONLY way and that God is the ONLY God. It's unfair, I know but if you think about it, NO ONE deserves to go to heaven which means that no matter how many good deeds we do, we can never earn our way there. It's God's grace that even allows us to go to heaven in the first place. SO yeah, it's sad, but it's the truth and if we believe it to be absolute, than yeah, we CAN expect others to believe the same.

"The US & Europe is becoming more atheist/agnostic as generations pass on. " I don't quite remember who said this, (it was way up there), but every time I read this, my heart breaks. This is sad. Because I'm a New Englander.

Some of the religious who have posted comments here abhor the intolerance imbued in some of the comments here (NewEnglander, you're the champ!). But my problem with people who profess strong religious views is that they codify their intolerance at the NATIONAL LEVEL, as evidenced by their support for constitutional bans on gay marriage, for example.
People here have to acknowledge, most of the religious have supported the Republican Party, owing to their platform on abortion, homosexuality, stem-cell research, and the teaching of religion (Christianity, but not Islam) in schools. But they support the same party that has displayed indifference to people who are suffering daily, those millions who are uninsured, the poor, and immigrants (legal and otherwise).
And yes, belief in an amoral Deist is different than a belief in the Judeo-Christian-Islam (JCI) God. Most of the founding fathers were deists, as with most of the scientists in Newton's era. You cannot lump them together with those who believe in the JCI God.

looking at the map, it looks like all the loose marbles roll to the corners

I just have an issue with those who claim that a document written by men and translated by men is the infallible word of God, and use the Bible as a club to beat down upon others. As a choir-singing churchgoer, I consider religion to be my personal belief, not one I inflict on others. In that sense, I am a liberal churchgoer. And yes, the hypocrisy of the religious, be it Jimmy Swaggert or the peodphile priests sickens me. I left the Catholic Church because I could not accept the Church's teachings, and refused to be a hypocrite.

Churches, as part of our "villages" along with families, schools, and organizations (Boy and Girl scouts, etc. ) are one way we communicate our values to our children. As a member of a tolerant church, the chuch reinforces my family's values. Sadly, some churches reflect their community's intolerances as well.

Ted Kaczynski has a high IQ and lots of education too

To "Proud":
"This is sad. Hopefully more people will find the way before it's too late." Wow. You truly are a brainwashed lemming. Too late for what? Is that a threat to non-believers? Maybe you need to concern yourself with life here on earth and spend less time cowering like a scared puppy at the things we don't understand. And if there is a god, and he/she is going to punish me for not believing in him/her, then that makes him/her an intolerant arrogant bully. Do you really think an omnipotent creator of everything would act that way? I would doubt that.

Jim K., will you sell me some of the LSD you're eating? Thanks.

All you so-called 'believers'........enjoy your fairy-tales and comic book heroes.

I would also note that for our friends who have posted and moved up here recently from those southern states and the "fly-over" middle of the country, it should be noted that a lot has changed here in the last two decades. There is a lot of animosity against religion here, and against the RCC, specifically. I think much of it has to do with this being a major concentration focus of priests molesting children and it being covered up going back at least three Cardinals.
I know many who changed their beliefs and feelings about faith and religion dramatically due to the information that came out. I would say that those poll numbers somewhat reflect changes in demographics from that scandal, but also reflect a change in attitude. While faith has not been the focus up here that it is for other areas, I think the animosity is of more recent and understandable origin.

seems to me that both sides are are stereotyping the other, the stereotyping of religionists by a few non-religionists is being used by a few religionists to stereotype the non-religionists.
i have found it is not so much the religion or the congregants but the leaders, the pastors, the preachers, the priests that lend themselves to such simplistic stereotyping....i still remember the first time i saw the sunday morning tv preacher after moving to nc in 1980, i thought it was a joke like a saturday night live skit but no, it was the reverend ernest aynsley a'preachin' and a' beggin' in the name of jesus. it is the robertsons, falwells, grahams, kennedys, wildmons etc that are the problem.

regular joe goingto service once o9r twice a week

you are so right, proud, with god's help we will turn those green regions to the light. thank you

funny how the the similarities between the devoutly religious and the extreme liberal are obvious, but the liberals as usual don't see it. they praise Obama as a Messiah for no apparent reason, but look down their noses at those who praise God. they blindly follow the words of fools like Al Gore, like religious folks follow the words of ancient documents. they worship the views of the Hollywood types, like religious folks flock to hear the Pope. liberals profess tolerance, but in realtiy are the most intolerant group of Americans if you don't share their viewpoints, identical in every way to religious folks. and finally, both are the most illogical people on the planet...maybe they should get together and discuss their similarities rather tha nhate each other so much.

to @48, JimK
Our country was not founded on Christian principles. It was founded based on the philosophies of the ancient Greeks, Locke, Hobbes, Smith, etc. Go through the Constitution and find me Christian principles. Look at the Declaration of Independence. with the same goal.
I would also note that you don't find Christianity in the Bill of Rights. Most of the Founding Fathers identified themselves as Deists. They believed in a spirituality but would not necessarily consider themselves Christian. There are tons of letters and quotes from the likes of Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Franklin and others to back this up, if you look a little.
Now, the country was largely populated with Christians, but, remember that many that came here did so to escape religious intolerance in Europe. Hence, there was a bright focus put on the need to separate government and religion and keep government from advocating or advancing any religion.

I think they asked the wrong question, what would have happened if they'd asked:
do you ask for meaning in life? or is spirituality important to you? the way they asked the question it was all about church, synagogue, mosque etc.

... anyone sees a resemblance between this map and the map of the confederate and union states of 1864? Funny this 35th parallel...

Least religous = most liberal. Equals highest taxes and most corruption.

How's that 'change' you (dupes) all bought into, coming along?

Coupe raising more Taxes.

Let me hit submit before this socialist raises taxes on clicks.

I love it when the self-professed tolerant liberals come out and spew their hatred and intolerance of people who are religious - apparently the irony is completely lost on them. Apparently they think that being tolerant means that it's OK to hate certain people but not others.

#95, I think you’re on the correct track.

But who has the right to judge anyone else. If your Atheist, Catholic, Christian, Muslim, whatever. USA is built on a HUGE melting pot from different races, religion etc. The fact is religious clashes’ cause more pain, death, and suffering than anything else.

If we take any of that away from the equation we as a whole (USA) would not be the same. Someone said earlier, those “Ignorant Massholes” (or whatever they said) or the “Bible Lovers” (whatever), why insult someone who has a different believe than you?? Do any of you know for a FACT!!! That the other is wrong? If you do lets start hearing them?

If you do not believe in god, GREAT, if you do GREAT! This is a huge debate, just as evolution has been for centuries. Even the Pope finally admitted that there are too many facts that prove evolution exists. You can go to any legit museum and see hard facts in front of you.

I am atheist and I’m from NH, so what? I believe in Science, I do not believe in Santa Clause, or the Tooth Fairy, or God for that matter. I accept that fact that there is nothing after life. Some of you are too frightened to think that this is it, so you look for a faith in religion which is GREAT!!!! I am friends with many men of cloth and we have debates about this but they are still my friends. I do not insult them, nor do they insult me for my beliefs.

For those of you proud about Massachusetts ranking in this survey, remember that Massachusetts might be one of the most corrupt states in America. Look at the current political situation in Mass and the fact that Barney Frank keeps going back to Congress should be good enough evidence. For all the intellect the state does possess, it certainly lacks a bit of moral balance when elected officials are concerned.

Yes, Eloise, and there isn't a tooth fairy either. Sad that we all must grow up, but I'd prefer it to living with fantasies buzzing in my head all day that some preacher or spirit was floating around me ready to meddle with everything. What's so bad about nothingness? Anyone who has ever been put under for an operation knows what nothingness is like. Time becomes irrelevant and like before you were born, you aren't aware of anything. There's no fear involved. I'd fear Life (with a capital L) much more.

Is anyone aware of a study comparing religosity and religious diversity? Isn't New England the most religiously diverse area in the country as far as the number of faiths and denominations go? I wouldn't be surprised if there is a correlation between that and the lack of religion in people's lives.

This is why I love living here. Of course there is a correlation between our traits and not being religious. Highly educated, higher-income, people who question the norm, innovate, create. I wish the south won the civil war - our average IQ, education, income would go way up.

and 'Proud', why do you religious types always feel bad for us non-religious types because we haven't 'found our way' yet? I cannot speak for all atheists, but I'm not looking for anything...I am not lost...there is nothing I need to find. There are many unanswerable questions in life, but I don't feel lost without the answers. I'm totally content without buying into any religion, and if you are totally content buying into a religion, good for you. I won't judge you, please don't judge me (that should be in your bible somewhere, true?)

to poster #17- Galileo was excommunicated by the church due to his radical theories (of heliocentrism) and was not pardoned until 1990-- I don't know that I would include him on my list of great religious minds since the church wanted no part of his heretical discoveries.

To quote 78 quoting someone above...
"There is nothing wrong with being religious, but there should be a separation of church and state and in New England you tend to have that"

You do realize this is a Christian principle?
-----------------------------------
There is nothing about that statement even remotely Christian. Christianity was spread by the sword, imposed from above by government, throughout hundreds of years of history. Part of the reason this country was populated was religious intolerance in Europe, small sects not accepted by the Christian influenced governments. Please learn some history. Christiantiy does not believe in self determination, it believes in bowing to the will of a Creator. Read the Bible. If you believe it there will be a final judgement. Christians get saved, the rest don't. There is no tolerance in Biblical Christianity. There is love, but ... no. Separation of Church and state is not a Christian goal or ideal.

Wow, that chart reaffirms why I'm proud to be a native New Englander. Still, I ponder what John Winthrop, someone today we might call leader of the Christian Taliban, would think if his fleet were to arrive in Boston harbor today. He'd likely see a soicety where the majority have distanced themselves from the ravages of organized religion and have quietly looked inward to spiritually encounter the source from which we all have manifested, whether we describe that source as God, or any of a 1,000 other names utilized by humanity. He's also see a thriving intellectual community, so self-centered and in love with themselves and their egos that they actually believe they have absolute final answers to universal questions we'll never resolve. A few years ago, I Googled what was then an unfamiliar term to me, "Theoshopy". New Englanders are essentially theosophists. They're not afraid to think for themselves. At the end of the day, we are all One.

I think Massachusetts better hold on tight because all the greed & trying to live without putting God in the 1st place is definitely making God angry. We will be punished. Unfortunately, the good along with the bad will suffer. I, personally, will continue to live my life by following the "Ten Commandments". Only ***10*** people. Lets wake up before it is too late!!! God Bless Us!

What a great discussion! I think it is fascinating that there are people who obviously do not live in the northeastern part of the country who hop onto boston.com to read the articles. One has to wonder why. I'll share a personal story about my four years in the heart of the Southern Bible Belt.

Having gone to a catholic high school, I certianly had my share of religion during my four years of school, but it wasn't until I reached the South that I realized that HATE existed in church. I was sitting in the dining hall one sunny Sunday around 1pm or so, and i had a student walk up to me in his Sunday best, and he said to me, in the nicest possible way, "You are going to hell because you do not go to church." So I looked at him, and said, "Says who?" His reply to this was, "God". My immediate response was, "Which one?" At this point he was stumped.

I continued by naming off many different religions. The catholic church? The Baptisits? The Hindus? The Muslims? We all have a right to believe whatever it is that we want to believe. I nfact, doesn't the church preach acceptance? Then why is it that those of us who CHOOSE to be agnostic or athiest are judged by others who subscribe to a particular belief? He had a right to believe what he wanted to believe, but I also had a right to do as I wished. His belief, however, did NOT give him the right to judge.

Judging someone whom you don't know based on the fact that they were wearing a t-shirt and shorts to lunch is the definition of ignorance.

Speaking of ignorance...
Shecky...
Life is not empty and meaningless without an imaginary omnipotent father figure to believe in. We simply find meaning in other things, like the people in our lives, our work, perhaps spirituality in another form. To conclude that because my belief system is not the same as yours my life is empty and meaningless, is devoid of understanding, compassion and knowledge. Please note the sarcasm in my first statement.

#94 Jim K - it's "souls" not "soles". What was someone saying about bible thumpers being well read and educated? Right.

To each his own. I'm sure if you posted this article down south somewhere, there would be a slew of people judging other states just as it has heppened here. I think people react the same way pretty much everywhere. People here are not "snobs" or think that they are "elite". Well maybe some do, but some down south feel that way about themselves too. What makes sense to some people may not make sense to others. Opinions and beliefs are everywhere.

There's a lot of praise for the greatness of Massachusetts going on in these responses. I just don't see it. Yeah, you have highly educated people in many corners of the state - probably a simple function of the number of colleges. But, the state has as many problems if not more than many others (especially in areas of government corruption and economy). It's not like you've got a secular-cultural-intellectual utopia going on here. When I travel around Massachusetts, I'm not any more impressed with the quality of the citizenry than most other states I've traveled in. I also question the "liberalism equals intellectualism" idea. Look at New Hampshire - even less religion than Massachusetts - yet despite recent flux towards Democrats, not considered a very liberal state. It's got high ratings for education and for personal incomes.

With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
- Steven Weinberg

I'm sorry.
I did not Google "Theoshopy".
I Googled "Theosophy"

By the way, that's Greek for "Divine Wisdom".

If you also notice...

The most religious states are the ones who embrace CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.

I guess if it was GOOD ENOUGH FOR JESUS, it's good enough for anyone.

This is good news. Religion has assisted in the poisoning of the national debate in this country's history, starting in the social arena in the post-WWII era with abortion, gay issues, stem cells. All familiar topics.

Personally, I am a firm believer in Jesus and his love for one another. And it is just that: personal. No need for me to spew my thoughts and beliefs on my neighbor; no need to head to the ballot box and vote the "Christian way." Often times I wonder what Jesus would want to see in people's voting patterns if here were her today. Truth is, I don't know! In short, I am happy that most people in New England maintain a healthy distance between personal beliefs and public policy and culture.

When God created the world, it was perfect and good. Then he made Adam and Eve and gave them their own free will, so they would have a choice whether to follow and obey God. But they were tempted by Satan to disobey God, and they sinned. This separated them (and everyone that came after them, including us) from being able to have a close relationship with God. He is perfect and holy and must judge sin. As sinners, we couldn't reconcile ourselves to God on our own. So God made a way that we could be united with Him in heaven. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Jesus was born to die for our sins so that we would not have to. Three days after His death, He rose from the grave (Romans 4:25), proving Himself victorious over death. He bridged the gap between God and man so that we may have a personal relationship with Him if we only believe.

Believe or die Sinners.

YES!! Thank God! : )

What a surpirse that the states with the highest education, most institutions of higher learning, have progressed beyond the childish fairy tale stage... Funny how that always seems to conveniently work out.....

Go Science! Go Reason! Go Critical Thinking! Go Not Believing In Ancient Campfire Tales Made Up To Explain Why We're Here!!

Perspective.

Hey kiggy:
You really believe that bigotry exists more within the bounderies of South Boston? That's a pretty ignorant, prejudiced statement you just made. Do you even know anybody from South Boston? You think it's okay to judge thousands of people on the actions of very few that happened 34 years ago? If you want to see a bigot, go look in the mirror.

Being from across the pond, Old England, without affiliation to a religious institution: having recently spent a year living in TX, it was with great relief that we moved north to MA (mind you I didn't know the truth about the snow at that point), where I am not considered devils spawn and live in fear that I might accidentally exclaim "OMG" and find myself staring down the barrel of a gun.

Texans are kind, generous, warm and friendly people but the God stuff is pretty mind blowing to someone raised in a genuinely secular country. Each to their, own - just please dont try to convert me.

I find it interesting that the more people need to talk about how they are enlightened well educated with progessive minds that they are actually the most intolerant hate spewers of people who are diffierent than themselves. I'm all for personal freedom and diversity just don't ask me to pay for it.

Non-religious people by every measure are the least charitable. They expect the government to "do" their charity for them.

After growing up and spending most of my life in Texas, I can assure those aggrieved hyper-religious southerners ranting in the thread that from my experience Massachusetts is far more tolerant and enlightened when it comes to most issues...certainly in matters of religion. It draws the line when it sees religious powermongers trying to dictate public policy.

One difference is this: many in the South will be genteel and courteous in public even to those that piss them off, saving their bile to vent later (or for an anonymous forum like this). In the North, you're far more likely to confronted by any negative reaction a individual person may have. That's why Massachusetts pisses you off so much - it will tell you to your face that it thinks fundamentalist Christianity (Mormonism, Scientology, etc) is laughable. Massachusetts, intolerant? You're really stretching out the wasteband for that word, don't you think?

For those who pull out the elitist snob argument and slams the religious critics, here is the deal: WE ARE ELITE, okay? We are near the top in education, low crime ... read the list. Is a snob still a snob if they actually ARE smarter and more effective? Give it up Righty. We are smarter, better, more productive, etc. For the non-religious; stop apologizing or being defensive about having made better decisions and reaping the rewards. Pride, not shame. Let those who can't shake ancient mythology do the apologizing. I am as sick of their elitism arguments as I am their hypocritical Jesus arguments. Ignore them all and maybe they will continue to go away, one by one. Elite enough for you? You'll get no apology here.

God needs to make an appearance, maybe standing on the Bunker Hill Monument, and make a statement that you New England people need to clean up your act at once. And then just flash away!!

Oh wait!!

I meant to say: [Insert deeply apologetic comment excusing the infantile stupidity of religious belief, merely because we must be tolerant of those who choose to delude themselves of reality...]

I'm sorry, but do you know when "religious tolerance" goes out the window?? When religion CONTINUES to maintain the #1 spot on the list of things that kill people! Cancer, AIDS, heart disease... they ain't got sh!t on religion, baby!

The next war that doesn't include religious difference at its core will be the very first! Religion is stupid sky fairy BS for the moronic sheep in our society. Thankfully, that number dwindles by the day.

Then again, maybe I'm worng. Maybe there IS something that trumps religion in regards to hurting massive quantites of people.......... It's called 'truth'. Try living for THIS life, mkay?

Here endeth the lesson.

Tell me something: when your tooth aches, do you go to a church to pray it away, or do you go to a dentist who's been scientifically trained to tend to your pain and discomfort? If you answered both, you're wasting half your time. Yes, humans have spiritual needs, and yes, *some* churches can respond to these effectively. But our spiritual needs do not supersede our physical ones. And we best understand our physical world through science, not religion. Suppose that getting vaccinations required a reasonable understanding and acceptance of the evolutionary theory which makes their development possible. I think an awful lot of bible-thumpers down South, or anywhere else they choose to live, would probably be dead by now. The thought of it saddens me for humanity's sake.

I should not have to apologize for being smarter than others. I should not have to apologize for having made better choices. I should only have to apologize for things like spending more than I need to, not respecting people based on their appearance rather than their deeds; and putting my financial interests above the personal interests of others. Oh, But ... wait ... I'm not republican or religious so I don't have to!! Here's hoping that our great-grandchildren inherit a world where a church, temple, synagogue or mosque is only a valued artifact of a bygone era. Can you Imagine …

Hooray!

You can go to a college, you can go to a school, but if you dont know Jesus, i think, we are educated fools. You might have higer IQ's but knowing the creator is the best.

ISRAEL’S LIES -
Henry Siegman, London Review of Books, 1/29/09

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n02/sieg01_.html

[Henry Siegman, director of the US Middle East Project in New York, is a visiting research professor at SOAS, University of London. He is a former national director of the American Jewish Congress and of the Synagogue Council of America.]

Western governments and most of the Western media have accepted a number of Israeli claims justifying the military assault on Gaza: that Hamas consistently violated the six-month truce that Israel observed and then refused to extend it; that Israel therefore had no choice but to destroy Hamas’s capacity to launch missiles into Israeli towns; that Hamas is a terrorist organisation, part of a global jihadi network; and that Israel has acted not only in its own defence but on behalf of an international struggle by Western democracies against this network.

I am not aware of a single major American newspaper, radio station or TV channel whose coverage of the assault on Gaza questions this version of events. Criticism of Israel’s actions, if any (and there has been none from the Bush administration), has focused instead on whether the IDF’s carnage is proportional to the threat it sought to counter, and whether it is taking adequate measures to prevent civilian casualties.

Middle East peacemaking has been smothered in deceptive euphemisms, so let me state bluntly that each of these claims is a lie. Israel, not Hamas, violated the truce: Hamas undertook to stop firing rockets into Israel; in return, Israel was to ease its throttlehold on Gaza. In fact, during the truce, it tightened it further.

Too funny, all of the high minded intellectual responses. If you look at the dark green states, they cover most of the fastest growing states in the Union. Sure exceptions exist, ND and SD, but when it is that cold you had better know God. Then look at the lightest green and yellow, again with exceptions are the slowest growth states in the Union. It would seem intellectualism is not a great draw but God is, go figure.

Many people seem to forget that many religious figures have led lives of complete self sacrifice. Also, many religious organizations do so much charitable work that they're essentially irreplaceable in our world. To those that have a certain distaste for religion: how much charitable work have you done in the past decade? How much money have you donated to charitable causes? I'm sure religious institutions and the members of those institutions far outperform on charitable acts. See the thing I like about religious people is that they're sincere in caring for the sick, the tired, and the poor. When I see some person at a Darfur rally on a college campus they're only using their mouths to make themselves feel better and would do little if nothing to actually help the situation.

I am a native North Carolinian who has lived in Massachusetts for a decade. I grew up going to my Methodist church on a regular basis and was extremely involved in the youth group during junior high and high school. When I got to college (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; not Harvard, but still a top university by most measures), I kind of "outgrew" my church involvement, and haven't attended since.

What really irks me about many, many people in this part of the country, though, is the snide assumption that "religious" means "intolerant", "backwards" and "uneducated". The assumption that "those" people down South are ignorant and rednecks and somehow less-than the wonderful, "well-educated", "brilliant" North infuriates me. Not every Southerner who goes to church is conservative. Not every Southerner who practices Christianity is intolerant. In fact, most of the people I was surrounded by growing up were just as smart, just as tolerant, and much, much more open-minded than the bulk of the people commenting here.

While a few ultra-religious types are harsh on the non-believers, I see many more hostile non-religious people slamming those of us with faith. Critics on both sides are motivated by one thing: a threat. It's human nature to respond that way to what is different from oneself. Let's start looking for what we have in common, instead of searching for a wedge to drive between us. I admire the non-believers who respect those with faith, and are happy for anyone who finds peace through their religion. And I look up to those with faith who realize God is within believer and non-believer alike, and reach out to the "better angels" in everyone.

Liberal’s are so tolerant. Whatever!!!! They bashed Bush constantly(that's fine and deserved), but any negative comments about Barry Obama and they freak-out. Like he's this amazing Savior to the human race. Sorry his resume doesn't show any of that. Chances are he'll fail. Be prepared for it. They want their lifestyles protected and the religious lifestyles deemed illegal, because they can't stand being remind there is a God out there. What, are they feeling guilty for something? They want to kill babies and free criminals. Liberals are so upside-down they can't even decided what sex they are anymore. When I hear the word liberal the first thing that comes to mind is not educated, it hatred for anyone who doesn't allow them to behave badly with no responsibility. Liberals believe in *everything* and nothing at the same time, because what meaningless propaganda they do espouse is useless to progress for the human race.

Do they need to be reminded that Jesus was a a Liberal too. He was just a real one.

The largest part of the problem for all New England's lost souls who feel spiritual knowledge is associated with ignorance, is that you get disenchanted with organized religions "superstructure", and its associated transgressions either past or present, and proceed to throw out the baby with the bath... negating knowledge of the physical, mental and spiritual nature of your being. Most of this country's problems have resulted from the fact that we have lost our spiritual and moral mooring, not just the lay people but some in the clergy as well.

The difference between Religion and spirituality is the formal presents a structure for you to believe in, the latter presents a path for you to experience your connection with the divine yourself

Their ignorance of your relationship with the divine is their loss. Its the only thing that is eternal. And the people in the South will have that over the arrogent northeast all day long.

Like it or not, we are all part of each other and of God. Many of you who refuse to acknowedge such display ignorance of the nature of your own being.

Ma also has one of the lowest morality rates, with the likes of Barney Frank. Ted Kennedy, and the homo marriages what did you expect?

Love how the intolerant religous people call the liberals intolerant. Sucker please.

Love how people say we live in the most "corrupt" state in the nation, yet again, sucker please, have you ever read the histories of the religous states? They make us look like newbes.

BTW religous people, is this any surpirse, when your religons are responsible for the wars we fight, people who get molested, rights being denied and your constant evanglism to get us "unbelievers" to convert. You are hate and I will never tolerate hate. Organised religion equals hate.

I feel sorry for those who know religion, what empty lives they must lead

i´m an active catholic and proud of that fact. i will never leave my religion. for me God exist and loves us.

I have to say, the stupidity of the posts by most of the people-claiming-to-be-smart here is remarkable. To claim that religion is simply superstition and that God does not exist is to claim proof of the unprovable. To cherrypick Biblical quotes without the slightest grasp of their context, or meaning, is facile, and would be laughed out of any substantive freshman-level college course.

But, by all means, keep doing what you're doing. We religious people must all be dumb, right? Well, except for those of us who see the (obvious) flaws in your rationale - thinking only along logical lines, and not even resorting to faith to argue against you. If we can beat you at your own rhetorical game, on your own grounds, how exactly are you claiming to be more educated?

People who resort to the "religious folk are uneducated hicks" are throwbacks to the greatest of copouts - the false stereotype.

As for the guy who mentioned Sam Harris - ugh, are you kidding? That guy has less of a handle on what religion entails than most of the people on this board. His entire argument consists of cherrypicked verse (which he takes out of context and generally ignores what religious people think about them, instead drawing his own, childish conclusions) and absurd statements like "OMG the Crusades were Christian!" when no Christian today thinks that the Crusades were anything but a grotesque twisting of faith. He's a hack, and he's raking it in hand over fist from people too stupid to think critically about what he writes... which, if you think about it (I'm not holding my breath), is ironic.

re 136...
Please take a step back and see if that post makes any real sense.
Heck, did you know the gods live on Mount Olympus? If you don't believe me, the Delphic Oracle will confirm what I am saying, I already paid him off.

There are so many logical, realistic problems it is not worth listing them. Instead, to quote George Carlin, "This world does not seem like the work of a divine being. It seems more like what you would expect from an office temp with a bad attitude."

Logic. Reason. Thought. They really aren't that scary, I promise. I will hold your hand while we explore them, if you wish.

Even most people who believe in religion think of the Bible as allegorical.

Religion and intollerence go hand in hand. Not all religious folk are nutso but the relgious propaganda in RI makes me puke...and makes me really angry to be driving down the street and these bilboards in my face say stuff like "Come in from the cold and Jesus will warm your heart" or "prayer keeps a family together......prayer meeting tonight at 7".....and even "Free lunch buffet...come in for a free meal"......anything to lure people into thier business. Relgious folk know the churches are there........and what really pisses me off are retail stores that buy cash in on this bull crap....I go into Jo-Ann's fabric...even in North attleboro mass, and there is almost an entire isle dedicated to christian patches and stickers and sew on items and whatnot. I didin't see any other relgion displayed....only God and Jesus stuff. God needs to stay in church and not be leaking into regular retail stores, and definatly needs to stay out of the government and education. It poisons society with its blatent disrespect for human rights, promotes intollerence, brainwashes children, teaches that everything in the world is not of god and therefore is not allowable.....rock music for example, and turns people into mindless drones that cannot think for themselves because it is a sin to ask questions..... because asking questions is not having faith...not having faith is a sin....if you are a sinner you will go to hell.......oooohhhh better not ask questions then and just accept god's existance.

This discussion illustrates how difficult it is to have a rational argument about
religion. Some people on both sides of the issue base their opinions on
stereotypical generalizations, prejudice, and faulty logic. Both sides need to show more tolerance and less ignorance. Being religious does not itself make someone stupid. Nor does being an atheist make someone intelligent. That's ludicrous!

At 67 yrs old, I believe life is too short to waste time denigrating the personal beliefs of others. Bigotry and narrow-mindedness only serve to shutter the mind from seeking wisdom and the heart from experiencing love. If I choose to follow
Christ's teachings in my journey through life, but you do not, this does not
make me right and you wrong or vice versa. How could either of us know the depth of thought and profound deliberation that might have gone into the other's decision? We can't; therefore, we should refrain from passing judgment on the other as stupid, misguided, crazy, or unenlightened. Why not just accept the fact that we're simply choosing different paths on this journey through life? if the path I follow helps me enjoy life more fully and face challenges more easily, then, be happy for me...and I will do the same for you.

We would all do well to remember Mother Theresa's words, "If you judge
people, you have no time to love them."

Yes we're the least religious and yet, we also have the lowest divorce rate in the nation. We don't wear God on our sleeves... We were also the first against slavery, first for public education, first for universal healthcare... Actions speak louder than words. Mississippi and Alabama - for all of their God-fearing has the highest poverty rate, the lowest graduation rates, and let's not forget civil rights.

It's funny how people think that the comments of a very few people are reflective of the attitudes and views of the whole of MA or N.E. . Now thats what I call ignorance!

Just because Mass residents aren't religious doesn't mean that they aren't complete boors with their prostelitizing- I can't stand being subjected to coworkers regurgitating what they just read in The Nation or on Huff Post, or going to a party under the guise of socializing only to be subject to another guest pooping on the rug with their espousing of their political views. It's far worse than anything I was subject to while living in the bible belt- and at least there was a certain amount of respect for me as an individual who did not share their views. You certainly don't get that here...

I grew up in one of the almost dark Green states and while I'm very happy here and do have my issues with the more conservative areas of this country, I'm pretty dissappointed by some of the comments on here. I can assure you there are positives about each state and not everyone in these areas are "ignorant inbreds who wish for jesus ponies to return with their rapture" as Ann so nicely put it.

In fact, I would venture to say I've seen just as much ignorance in my 2 1/2 years here as I have in Missouri. Granted, it's different and I do prefer the general mindset here more than there, but trust an outsider's perspective - it's alive and well here.

Just one example - a few short weeks after moving here I was with a group of ladies that taught at a local school. They made similar comments to me about where I was from, calling it the "bible belt" where the "weirdos" are and insisting Missouri was not part of the Midwest. Though they had never been there and I had just spent most of my 26 years there, they were certain they knew better. These people are supposed to be teachers! I was pretty blown away. Needless to say, if I ever have children while living in this state I'll be worried about the type of people teaching them.

We Can't be that smart if "we" have a State Government that is Bankrupt. MA is great place to live because of the natural surroundings, not the people. And the reason we have a low divorce rate is because people here do not get married as much as in other states, they just shack up and break up "under the radar."

I moved to Mass. 3 years ago and I've got to say, this makes a concrete case for why I love it here so much. I grew up in Tennessee myself and yes, people are a lot more open about religion down there, but there's a lot of hypocrisy. The divorce rate is through the roof, unfortunately. Hell, my dad had patients that cheated on their wives who were dying of cancer because their "needs weren't being met." That's actually pretty common down there and I can't understand how people like that can try to take the moral high ground and call us "elitists". My entire family is conservative and even they think it's bullcrap!

My husband and I are Christians, but are very liberal. It upsets us that we can't be just a little more open about our faith without automatically being lumped together with "bible thumpers".

Hey if we have to suck at something it might as well be religion. We can't be perfect. I like how New York and Cali are not that far behind us. :-D

Here's another statistic. The State's with the highest proportion of catholics in the U.S. are Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.

The State's with the lowet divorce rates are: Mass, Conn, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. So the states with the most Catholics have the lowest divorce rate.

Are the two related. Maybe. Maybe not. But I just wanted to point out that its really easy to take two facts and claim that one causes the other (i.e. "Mass is the least religious, that's why all of these other great things happen here").

Maybe some of the good things that happen in Mass aren't due to its relatively low Church attendance after all. Maybe those who go to Church actually do more of the heavy lifting...

There is a huge correlation between race, IQ, political orientation,and income when it comes to religion by state in America

I'm an Ivy League grad and a Christian who's been a life-long Mass resident. After reading these posts, I'm wondering where I fit in. I have family and friends in the South who are being stereotyped by some of the characterizations listed in previous posts. I understand that these are all opinions, which every person is entitled to, but they're starting to border disrespect and ignorance.
I might not agree with someone about a particular subject, but I won't judge them or disrespect them for their choice. Religion is a choice, and people are free to make choices. If you don't agree with someone's choice, that's fine. Just keep it moving and keep your disrespect to yourself.
But, I refuse to accept the fact that I'm not intelligent because I choose to believe in God. I made my choice, and all I ask is that people respect that.

I see a lot of comments about the high IQ of the north, and the ignorance of the South... and an awful lot of bigotry. Keep it up yanks.

I guess these comments also explain why Massachusetts is the only state in the country losing its population. The smugness is smothering. A high percentage of a dwindling number of unbearables don't feel religion is a high priority in their daily lives. Making kissy-faces to themselves in the mirror each day takes up all that time.

The Catholic Church does not preach salvation therefore interest is lost.
We need more Bible teaching churches.

1) Science came from religion.
2) Science proves intelligent religious beliefs.
3) Science and religion are great partners.
4) Scientists, please continue your good work. It is the foundation for intelligent religious belief.
5) Massachusetts is not the center of the universe.

Does this mean that one corner of Hell will have alot of people from Massachusetts in it?

You know this is nothing to brag about!!

Kennedy will finally be the president.

You can enjoy your low murder rates, your high income and your high IQ all you want - but your still going to hell ;-)

Well I think that religious-ness in the great commonwealth of Massachusetts all went downhill after the whole pedophile sex scandal cases starting with John Geoghan in 2002 and so-on. First it came out here in Boston and then slowly it spread around the country that this was a wide-spread thing. It was and is despicable and I wouldn't be surprised to see religion take a back seat to science in the next 50 years in a BIG way. I'm part of a generation of kids who really frankly doesn't care much for religion and I'm interested to see how this will play out.

Do American people worship money?
I heard from someone in my church who has been in America many years that American people worship money, is it true?

I find it really debatable to state that Massachusetts has a populace that has one of the highest IQ in the nation. Although Massachusetts ranks third highest in the nation for spending per student for their education, the kids rank 39th in the nation overall in academic success, so to be honest and fair, you have to insert the caveat that Massachusetts IMPORTS people with high IQ's. Easy to say that Massachusetts ranks highest because religion is absent, but much harder to back it up with facts. Setting aside that Massachusetts ranks among the highest in academic facilities and, of course, hospitals, which draw people to work there that have challenging careers, I'd like to see a study that shows that the average kid here is privy to all that education has to offer for its own residents. And to address the fact that religion falls low on the totem pole, I am not surprised with voters who think Ted Kennedy, who could walk away from a drowning girl; or John Kerry, who could turn his back on G. I.'s during the Viet Nam war, sit next to Jane Fonda, and call men he so-called "served with" "murderers", would think religion is not important. Some day we will all have to answer for our choices in life ... hope your IQ helps you get it right then!

Wow, it is so pathetic to see the comments from the religious. What a sad, deluded existence you must lead...

It's just so sad how they're unable to just... let... go...

The hallmarks of religion are so obvious: You mamma or pappa believed it, so you would betray them or their memory by casting your religion aside. You're stuck in that mindframe and can't get out. Sad. Afraid of death? That helps feed religious fervor. Clinging to the hope of re-uniting with all of your dead relatives up there walking around in the clouds... Of course, the #1 top-of-the-list factor continues to be the ignorant belief that you KNOW why everything is the way it is. You are so pathetically limited by your perspective, that you couldn't even hope to find the edge of that box, let alone the outside... You simply MUST know and be able to explain how all of this happened..... that is easily the saddest aspect of the religious.

They take comfort in delusion. They know and you don't, so YOU'RE the unfortunate one. It's just so frustrating that people can be so small-minded. But more frustrating is that those of us who have a fully functional brain have to walk around on eggshells. Newsflash: Not all of us are lazy enough to allow this society to continue to be held back by religion.

As you can tell, I'm done with that. Too many people continue to die on a daily basis to sit back and just let everyone have their beliefs. Your beliefs kill people. Stupidity is to blame. That, and the spineless types who KNOW reality, but think freedom of religious belief is harmless...

Being a man whom lived a good portion fo his adult life without Christ and now having Christ as the center of my universe, I'd like to make a few comments. The majority of self proclaimed Christians, Catholic or Protestant are Christian in name only. Jesus greatest commandment is love God with your whole heart, mind, and soul and love your neighbor even your enemies. Anyone committing violent crimes is not following Christ and is therefore not a true Christian. The key is developing a personal relationship with Jesus. I laughed at people whom said this to me in the past and now feel sad for those whom won't give God a try. It's clear in the scripture that most are on the wide path and not the narrow path to heaven. I know in my heart the Catholic Church contains the fullness of the truth. I am also called to respect the office of Bishop and Priests but not always the individual. I am disgusted with the behavior of many of our Bishops and Priests but I belong to a wonderful parish in whch the truth is told consistently. It's not about putting fannies in the pews and caving to political pressure it's about standing up for the Truth of Jesus Chirst. I am involved in a wonderful ministry there which takes most of my free time and I surround myself with fellow Jesus following Catholic doctrine following Christians. Although I don't mind being persecuted for my faith, I do get frustrated with all the untruths often stated about my Church. Like the great Bishop Sheen said and I'm paraphrasing "There aren't 100 people whom hate the Catholic Church, but there are thousands whom hate what they perceive the Church to be.

"Dr." Bahemira:

No, science did NOT come from religion. Only a complete moron would attempt to argue that, simply because EVERYTHING HAD TO BE tied into religion.

Science has done nothing but disprove the idiotic campfire tales of religion from day one... Before people knew what a tectonic plate was, "God shook the earth"... "There was a great flood across all the earth" because nobody had CNN and they couldn't tell a damn thing about what was happening 20 miles away, let alone 200 or 2,000. Oh, but the people from the next town over had a flood, so of course, it encompassed all the land.

THEY ARE FAIRY TALES!!! Explanations for the unexplainable! Comfort for those who are too emotionally weak to deal with our existence!

Simply put, religious people have absolutely ZERO perspective. You are unable to climb outside of your own narrow mind and simply contemplate how people 2000 years ago operated and carried on with their life... It's just so damn sad how people are so easily duped!

WAKE UP!

Must be all those disenfrancised Catholics. The outocme of the cleargy sex scandal

Ever since we monkies found language and the written word, we have never ceased to just be quiet and listen.

Yes, there is a common energy that binds us all and everything together, just as Einstein espoused. This energy is faceless and as eternal as the universe and is constantly moving and in flow.

Just stop jabbering and blogging so much and LISTEN. And then maybe you'll hear the energy that is moving underneath it all. And you'll find the peace that your old reptilian/mammalian brain is so desperately seeking.

The most intolerant people tend to be non-religious ones. More crime and war has happened in the past 100 years since the rise of the secular state than all the religious ward combined. Secularism has proved a deadly experiment, and its ideology continues to blind the so-called non-religious elites to their own very religious zeal and preconceptions.

"Religion is the opiate of the people." - Karl Marx

If greed is a religion , the majority of MASS residents let it rule their every move!

Wouldn't the world be a great place if we could all just shut up about our beliefs and stop trying to get others to believe (or not believe) the same thing? Stop trying to make me believe in your Jesus and I'll keep my Spaghetti Monster to myself.

Kala (comment #23) hit the nail on the head: Southerners may be open about their religion (at least in NC); people in MA are not. I grew up in W. Ma, lived in Boston for 10 years, then moved to NC. I grew up in a religious household. I got sick of the Puritanical ideology, like a lot of folks from the Northest do. We're NOT a bunch of "inbred ignoramuses" in NC. RTP has the highest concentration of PhD's in the nation (or at least , we used to ). Don't dis Dixie! Harvard's the "Duke of the North," and I challenge a lot of MA high-schoolers to apply to UNC-Chapel Hill or NCSU... Duke and UNC are HARD to get into.

Interesting to read.....question should have asked about spirituality not religion....we all know that religion can help many but is no guarantee of good behavior.......nothing brings out the rancor like religion and politics........you don't need to go to church, but you need spirituality .....have see folks die or watched them stand by as their loved ones did.......they all prayed and none of them thought it ended there.....God Bless us.

Define the meaning of the word "religion" in the question. I'm guessing most people who were asked, assumed it means organized religion. You know, church and temples, Sunday School, inviting the minister and his wife for tea.

In the more "non-religious" states, you will the find the regions of the country in which a large segment of the population is less interested in that sort of thing. More individualists and social libertarian types. Hence, Alaska and many of your red Western states showing up as "less religious".

Going to Church ain't the be all and end all of "being religious". I know plenty of truly awful people who consider themselves to be walking with Gob because they go to church and make a lot of noise about it. And just as many truly good people who have no interest in ever being associated with an organized religion of any sort.

And yet we're reading about this in a religion section.

You are all blasphemers.
May gods vengeful fury commeth down uppon you, you and your stinkin' educations.

I was born and lived most of my life in Massachusetts. Currently, I live in North Carolina. While North Carolina is among the 10 most religious states, I would like to state for the record that it is significantly more civil, i.e., tolerant, than Massachusetts. By a long shot! Don't be so quick to correlate a lack of religious convictions with tolerance and enlightenment. In my experience, it doesn't compute.

Festivus for the rest of us. Religion should be outlawed as it misleads the youth and we don't like any bigots or rich Republicans around.

Theres an ocean of difference between religious freedom and organized religion. MA is extremely tolerant and open-minded towards the former. The latter on the other hand is not welcome.

Considering the fact that we've seen priests molest our children, churches abandon and skewer those because of sexual orientation, and communities blindly believing in abstinence while their girls get pregnant, I think that the anger is very well justified.

"Lies, damn lies and statistics"
It occurs to me that MA intelligence stats are skewed by the high number of Grad and Post Grad students attending the "Ivy League" institutions here. Many of them from other States and other countries but they do tend to up the average IQ. I have lived in more than a few countries and more than a couple of States and I have to say that MA has more than it's share of idiots, obnoxious individuals, racists, bigots, corrupt and just downright rude ignorant people. A high IQ does make make one special and whether you are religious or not the measure of a good person is how they think of, and treat the other beings that share this planet. Liberalism preaches tolerance and understanding (war is not the answer" and "if we talk to them we will come to a mutual understanding") but then turns around and assasinates every person that differs in opinion.
If anything the posts on this blog prove that we Massachusetts residents are filled with rage, prejudice and intollerance. By my reckoning that makes us one of the most stupid collection of beings around despite the statistics.

Pollyanna, where did you get your facts that MA is ranked 39th? Here are some rankings that disprove that:

Ranked #2 Here:
http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm
and here:
http://www.psk12.com/rating/USthreeRsphp/STATE_US_level_Elementary_CountyID_0.html

#1 Here:
http://www.psk12.com/rating/USthreeRsphp/STATE_US_level_Middle_CountyID_0.html
and here:
http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2008/12/04/best-high-schools-state-by-state-statistics.html

So please supply your references, I would love to see them

I once lived in a dark green state and have relocated to Massachusetts. I am a believer and have found the best group of people to worship with in Massachusetts.
The people who seek out faith that I have encountered in New England are those who are not concerned with the social benefits from religion that can be found in the state I am from, but rather the actual study and daily concern with what faith can be.
I do not miss the religion of the dark green state and am glad to be a believer in a less religious part of the country. as it seems more real and concerned with the welfare of others than what I have previously encountered in my home state.

Yet another reason why I will NEVER leave Mass!!!!

I am one of those New Englanders that carries no religious beliefs. I am tolerant of those who have their own faiths and beliefs. I think the liberal intolerance that many people have referred to stems from the fact that most (not all) religions inherently have some form intolerance built in to the fundamental doctrines. Whether it be intolerance for homosexuals, a disrespect for women, a future in hell for those that think differently or otherwise, it is this inherent intolerance within many religions that inevitably leads to intolerance of religion in general. It's a vicious cycle that probably has no end in sight. So why argue about which of us is more intolerant and just let each of us move forward with our own beliefs.

Interesting discussions here. For those of you who are wary of "religion" but are very interested in exploring your faith . . .

www.bostonvineyard.org

@169: I totally agree. This board brings out the worst in everyone and I find it sad that folks will judge MA based on the few ignorant loudmouths that post here. We're not all that annoying up here, I assure you. Most of us are very nice.

Me, I'm a practicing Catholic who is also an educated liberal and lifelong MA resident. I could not care less what others choose to believe, if they don't hassle me I won't hassle them. It's worked pretty well for me so far (my closest friends are atheists) so I'll just keep right on doing it and try to ignore the folks that insult my intelligence.

I think it is interesting to note that charitable giving is tied to religion. http://www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org/natl/generosity_index/2006.html
Massachusetts is consistently in the bottom half of charitable giving, while Mississippi is #1

Wow I can't get through all of the comments - there's a lot of arrogance and vitrol out there.

Well in case anyone actually gets down to here I would like to say that there are also many UUs in this region. I know from personal experience we're not on the radar of survey takers. Dunno if they were included in the religions this survey probably asked about or not but if they weren't that would eliminate a number of religions New Englanders from the getgo. Another thought along this line is that plenty of people are religions but would not say that it's a daily part of their lives.

And wow a whole slew of you on either side of the arguments blowing around here could use a real shot of tolerance.

This thread has really struck a nerve with the elite intelligentsia. Bring to mind a very insightful saying from an old, traditional Catholic.

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

#204

My favorite type of retort is one that practices exactly what it is protesting.

"Massachusetts residents are filled with rage, prejudice and intollerance"
"...one of the most stupid collection of beings"
" MA has more than it's share of idiots, obnoxious individuals, racists, bigots"

take a good, long, hard look in the mirror.

I'm an ivy league grad, I grew up in MA- live in NH now and I am religious.

Alot of atheists seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding about the relationship between science and religion. They 2 aren't incompatible. They are simply studying different things and asking different questions. Sometimes combining the two can lead to powerful answers. Look up Georges LeMaitre in the Wikipedia. He was a Catholic PRIEST. He was also a PHYSICIST. He came up with the Big Bang Theory back in 1927. The Vatican believed this theory was correct before most scientists did. Albert Einstein initially rejected it because he thought it sounded TOO CHRISTIAN because it involves the universe being created a specific point in time out of nothingness. Later, after he'd studied it more and Hubble's observations about the EXPANDING universe were published he came to accept that the Big Bang Theory was indeed the correct theory, and that Father and Doctor Georges LeMaitre had the most beautiful and elegant explanation of the creation that he'd ever heard.

FYI Pope John Paul II said that Evolution was more than a theory (i.e. its in all probability the correct answer to how mankind got its body. However, evolution doesn't explain where the Soul comes from- that's where religion comes in....

Okay, what if...

What if God revealed Himself to each us personally at the same time? A God of love and truth and light - an experience so powerful it leaves no doubt.

What then? I think we'll be surprised - surprised by some of the people we know who will be joy filled -- and surprised by some who won't. Intent in the heart will mean everything. Our love will mean everything.

I realize this "what if" is hypothetical to most (okay, all) of you. I think we all soon will experience it. Soon - within a few years. Maybe even this one.

Atheists and religious fundamentalists are two sides of the same coin -- intolerant, closed minded, and carrying a too high opinion of themselves based on their own set of beliefs. It's either some fool believing in Adam & Eve, or something equally asinine, or some knucklehead with a high IQ proclaiming mere chance explains the stars, planets, and the rich diversity of life here on earth. Yes, in Massachusetts many of us have turned away from religion because, after analyzing a lot of what we were being taught, we concluded it was more fairy tale than scripture. I rejected most of Christianity years ago. But, just how an atheist can be so sure that there's no God escapes me. What the hell are they basing it on -- the absence of observable evidence?

Massachusetts also is in the top tier in studies on people who are in therapy, and say they are not happy in their lives,and have said in surveys that they don't lead fulfilling lives..... despite telling one another how smart they are, how better off they are, and how much they love Massachusetts... one of the few states that has LOST population in the last decade.

So yes.... " go figure "

The reason southern states (and more religious ones) generally are known for giving more money to charity is because by far the biggest benefactor of charity money is churches. Therefore, it only makes sense that states where people are the most religious are going to have higher charitable givings, as they're giving so much of their money to their churches. I really don't think it has anything to do with them being more generous at all.

People who are saying religion is the cause for the high crime rates in the south, give me a break! Have you ever heard of poverty? Most likely that's the leading cause of the crime problems there. I'm not a religious person, but I can't stand the elitism in this state. You're no better than anyone else because your beliefs are different. Grow up.

I admit I'm not a very good catholic.
I heard a protestant minister quoted as saying "you can't get into heaven without a note from the poor".
I would add to that, "you can't get into heaven cheering against God and religion at every opportunity, either."
What have YOU been cheering for and against lately when it comes to religion?
You won't be answering to me though...

1) If Jesus Christ did not perform all the miracles described in the bible, no one would have ever heard of him...he would have immedietly been disnissed as a crack pot.

2) From a historical and non religeous perspective, we know that he created situations that threatened the romans and pharisees enough that they felt the need to kill him...leading me to believe the miracles were real or he would not have been a threat as he would have been dismissed as just a deranged person

3) Since therefore the miracles must have been real, I'm going to listen to what he has to say

4) He said you must approach your spirituality with the innocence of a child...you will not connect with your rational mind.

5) Therefore, intelictuals who cant let go with only believing what they see will never connect with the eternal part of their being (did you ever "see" the wind?) .

Case Closed

Massachusetts is full of so-called intellectual blowhards. I grew up and lived there for most of my life and left for a number of reasons, not the least of which was because of its tyrannical left-wing culture and politics. I laugh when I read articles in the Globe about why more and more people are leaving the state; they always talk about the weather or high cost of living or something else as the reasons. well i have news for you: the real reason is because it is a leftist socialist state that is completely intolerant of people who don't think like nut-case progressives. The entire state reeks of these people; and they are always letting you know it in one way or another...just drive around and look at the idiotic feminist and liberal bumper stickers saying something nasty or indecent (i saw one on a car driven by a lesbian recently that said "Vaginatarian"). It is no secret that if you proclaim yourself a republican or conservative you are just simply shut out of everything, including being friends with people. And you are castigated and mocked for it. The Mass. leftists don't want ANYONE as their friend who does not think like them. They are so full of hate towards the other side it makes a mockery of their claim that they are tolerant of others. The truth is they are tolerant only with people who think like them, and full of hatred towards those they...well...hate.

As for religion: no wonder why no one in Mass. is religious -- it's full of pedophile homosexual priests. Makes sense to me: for a state that puts gays before heterosexuals it is no wonder the priests there are raping little boys. And the elitists in Mass. say they have a wonderful state! Ha!. Mass. is also full of really stupid blue collar folks, all over the place...from the North Shore to the South Shore to Southie to Worcester to Bellingham to Lowell to Fitchburg and to the far reaches of the state in the West. All of these blue collar types THINK they are smart because of some of the schools in the state like Harvard and MIT. For some reason they think their brutish and bullying behavior is intellectual expression. Well, I can tell you, no one at the colleges there will have anything to do with these blue collar types (just another form of hatred and exclusion the educated elitist there have for their fellow citizens).

Mass. people are cold, insular, and acerbic. This is well known througout the rest of the United States. They think they are smarter than they really are and have nothing but nasty things to say about Southerners...all the time. And they think that shouting the loudest and holding the most extreme left wing views makes them correct in everything they believe.

They also don't understand that Mass. (and most other new england states) has a huge white population that accounts for the low violence rates there. In the South there is obviously a much higher poor black population (previously enslaved by the Democrat Party in the South and oppressed by the Democratic-imposed Jim Crow laws) and that is one of the reasons of crime there. In Mass. they don't want blacks living there...they are segregated to various parts of the state and in cities, like Mattapan and Dorchester in Boston, and Central Square in Cambridge. Blacks in Mass. comprise less than 5% of the population of the state while they comprise 13% of the national population. There is absolutely no integration of them into larger society like they are in DC, NYC, and the South...hmm, how progressive is that?...

All in all, Mass. is the worst state in the union to live. It is full of anti-religious leftist jerks who think they are smarter and better than everyone else and take every opportunity to let you know it (that is, that they are jerks). I am so happy I left that state and I encourage others there who are thinking about it to do the same.

You will be glad you did.

Go Sox!

Did anuone notice the most religious states are also the states that receive the most welfare?

I'm reminded of the time I drove through Tennessee and all along the highway were alternating billboards advertising strip clubs and Baptist churches. Sin, redemption, sin, redemption... Anyway, I'm glad I live here and not there!

Wow, this is simply unbelievable! Where did such hatred come from? How many of you have had a sick family member and appreciated someone offering a prayer for them? How has religion personally hurt you? This is shameful. It is always amusing to me how the "tolerant" liberals spit and spew forth angry words to the "intolerant" conservatives. I pray God blesses you all, despite your hatred, and you too learn to see His love all around you. Clearly you need some healing that can only be provided by Him. I believe this statistic clearly shows why some people in this state are so angry and rude- no fruits of the spirit.

Doesn't suprise me that this liberal state is full of non-believers. One of the smartest?? Self knowledge avails nothing. I will pray for all you nieve people with giant ego's.

To Jim K:
This country was NOT founded on Christian principles. Quite deliberately, any reference to God or Christ was not included in the Constitution. The authors of the Constitution were a very diverse group of individuals who held quite different religious beliefs. Our founding fathers knew more keenly than we what a dangerous proposition such an inclusion would bring. This country was founded on the principle of separation of church and state.

Actually, Massachusetts is tied with Maine as the seventh-least religious state, as there are six ahead of the Bay State. Michael Paulson makes a common error by not counting each state individually.

I think that people are connecting some dots a little too quickly, and generalizing way too much, but regardless, I live in MA, I love where I live, and I love the people here, but also love God. According to most responses on this board, by being religious I must be an illogical idiot, who will most likely get divorced two or three times, beat their kids, not hold down a job and commit numerous crimes to make up for it. Oh, and I won't give a dollar to charity. Are these things true about me? No, but it doesn't matter, because the second I say I"m a Christian, they're assumed. Everything today is filed into neat little categories, and people hardly ever evaluate and describe reality as it really is, and as a result, truth is lost, and without truth we're going no where.

I think the initial question was wrong. There are many NE people who have a deep religious commitment in the Judeo-Christian tradition. There are many who also would regard themselves as spiritual...though that question was not asked.
I am personally offended by people who lobby me and try to evangelize me into their personal belief system. My feeling is that if it works for you, and you find comfort in your beliefs, by all means have at it. I do not like to be imposed upon to get into a debate about it. Sufism, anyone?
I grew up in the RC church and attended religious schools throughout high school. After college (secular) and law school, I began to see things differently. Do not categorize us as Godless Liberals, unless you enjoy the corresponding label of crazed southern fundamentalists. It's irritating and offensive. What I did learn in the early years is a healthy regard for helping people who are less fortunate, less healthy - both mentally and physically - and at least trying to make the world a better place. On the flip side, the church remains a paternalistic, male bastion of power, and this I cannot abide as an adult. I am not threatened by some of these insults, I simply feel the reverse 'intolerance' coming through quite clearly. Why is it so important for some religious types to insist that they and only they have the answers to the mysteries of our universe? How about adopting the so-called Golden Rule instead? Leave others alone except to help when possible and do no harm.

what a bunch of pompous elitist idiots. As said previously in this conversation, having a high number of graduate students and the highest per capita college rate only says that most of the people with higher education in MA aren't really from MA. I grew up in your stat and there was a definite religion to daily life correlation. One of the other reason for the low religious rate is that it is quite cold in all those states with the lower rates, except Nevada which is extremely hot. People just do not want to get up on Sunday morning, their only day of due to the fact that most MA people are workaholics or students, and brave the cold, and in the summer they would rather get up early to sleep at the beach. Remember that in history most of the geniuses had deep religious beliefs. The idea that you are smarter therefore not religious is ludicrous.

223 You are right on. Very well said.

Please don't think that all Alaskans are like Sarah Palin. She's the worst thing that ever happened to this state.

Massachusetts probably has low divorce rates because less people get married today. And teen pregnancy rates are also very low because abortion rates are so high.

How does abortion square with the welfare of babies in the womb? If anyone thinks abortion is consistent with human conduct, Gonzales v. Carhart is must reading; keep a bag nearby so you do not throw up.

If being religious means adhering to a worldview that rejects a creator God, how is it intelligent to believe in Darwinism, which requires faith that creation came from absolutely nothing? Poof! And then there was life. First there was nothing at all, and then there was something. Spontaneous creation... that is an intelligent proposition. It is much more plausible and logical to believe in a creator god than to believe something came from nothing.

I have lived in Mass. almost thirty years, and Virginia for almost three years. Quite frankly, I do not believe the majority of Massachusetts residents are as intolerant and ignorant as some of the above posts would indicate. I love Massachusetts but the people in Virginia are much more likely to help people in need, or be good neighbors.

Tolerance goes both ways.

Having lived in several places in my life (MA, CT, NYC- Queens, and the UK), I have an appreciation for people of different backgrounds - culture, religion, etc. FACT: Bigotry and racism exist everywhere. There's discrimination and "reverse" discrimination going on across the entire country, and across the world. To proclaim MA as the epicenter of "elitist, holier-than-thou bigots" would be inaccurate to say the least. I, for one, am not one of those people. Tristan (above) said it best with a very simple statement....

Treat others as you'd like to be treated. The golden rule never seemed so appropriate as in times like these.

228 Anne K
Your not very bright are you?

In the essays that make up The Federalist, God is mentioned twice (both times by Madison, who uses the word, as Gore Vidal has remarked, in the "only Heaven knows" sense). In the Declaration of Independence, He gets two nods: a reference to "the Laws of Nature and Nature's God," and the famous line about men being "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights."

America's founders did not intend for there to be a separation of God and
state, as shown by the fact that all 50 states acknowledge God in their
state constitutions:

America's founders did not intend for there to be a separation of God and
state, as shown by the fact that all 50 states acknowledge God in their
state constitutions

After reviewing acknowledgments of God from all 50 state constitutions, one
is faced with the prospect that maybe, just maybe, the ACLU, the
out-of-control federal courts, and YOU are wrong!

"Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants."
William Penn

Check your facts sweetheart

To Anne K: Constitution Preamble: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
I think that blessings are something from God. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?db=dictionary&q=blessing To "secure the blessings" is an overt reference to the Creator spoken of in The Declaration of Independence. While not expressly Christian ( I believe many founding fathers were deists and Unitarians), it would be quite revisionist to say that the country was not founded on Christian principls.

As a graduate of a Jesuit University I know that religion and enlightenment both properly conceived complement one another. It is easy to detect the countless cynics who view religion in the most extreme and distorted sense, yet it is also the same people who are confused as to what an intelligent and enlightened mind is. The fact that so many gloat about such a meaningless pole reveals a deep sense of insecurity and false hope in a completely secular education. As some alluded to Newton or Descartes, yes please do not forget that the Catholic Church has educated almost all of the most brilliant minds in Western History, including your boy Darwin who was in fact deeply religious. For more modern thinkers, Einstein was deeply spiritual and developed a more profound respect for religion in his later years. It is because these truly intelligent people are humbled by all they do not know and understand, and so they rightly submit to something that is greater than themselves. Massachusetts is one of the best states, but I suspect if we had a stronger sense of a genuine Christian religion, then we would not have so many ignorant and selfish people brooding over a meaningless poll.

Dear Megan - please move back to North Carolina.

To Ann K;

Actually, if you look back on history a little more closely, this country was founded to preclude the Federal Government from establishing a state religion. Such a restriction was firmly in line with limiting the power of the federal government. The idea of "seperation of chuch and state" as it is used today was not really introduced until the late 1800's, and then more directly applied in the late 1940's. The fact that this country was founded by Christians of various denominations is indisputable. Religion played an important role in each of the colonies, and was refleected in the laws of each of those states. The fact that the formation of a federal government did not include specific relgious docrine or references to God merely reflects an understanding by the founding fathers that such concerns were of a more local.

The people of Massachusetts are some the most spiritual people that I have ever met!
I think the difference is that religion is a private matter for most people in Massachusetts. The way it should be! It is between the individual and whomever or whatever they believe in! It is not a contest! Definitely not a TV show!!

Many of you posting are complaining about christians being close-minded and pushy? really? look at the majority of these comments. "massachusetts is one of the smartest states, people in the south are stupid." or in other words, people who rely on religion and faith in God are weak and dumb. give it a rest. There are extremists on both sides. it just happens to be the case that the northeast is extremely liberal and the south is more conservative.
the stats aren't surprising. anyone who lives up here knows that the northeast is spiritually dead. i think the correlation between intellect in religion may be relevant to an extent; however, i think its extremely detrimental. many people are smart. however when you use your mind to think yourself to death you become not only prideful, but unable to believe or have faith.
I agree that many Christians have messed up terribly, many have been hypocritical and pushy; however, that doesn't change what faith is all about.

People who are deluded enough to buy into a bunch of made-up hoopla are not intelligent enough to comprehend the facts staring them in the face. In other words, it's never beneficial to argue with the religious. They will never hear you. They have spent unfathomable amounts of time training their mind to evade the very issues you raise... they then term this pathology "belief".

Yes, let's all pretend that people 2,000 years ago had the answer to everything... Mulitple regions, producing multiple religions... Everyone has their story, uh, I mean "answer"... Wherever you're born, that's your religion. But don't worry, you all have the correct answer.

I apologize for thinking rationally. I apologize that I like facts. Sorry.

Hey Gneicco - Sarah Palin's 80% approval rating doesn't support your theory that "she is the worse thing that ever happened to the state," except the the small minority in which I believe you reside.

The survey proves one thing I have been saying for years: Massachusetts and the Northeast is made up of nothing more than a bunch of Godless Communists!

"This might explain why Massachusetts is in the bottom fifth when it comes to charitable giving despite having the third highest per-capita income."

Or it might be that Massachusetts taxes the crap out of residents and has lots of programs for the poor that other states don't, perhaps making people with moderate incomes feel that they are already doing their part.

In the abstract, I am extremely "intolerant" of religion. I see it as ignorant superstition that leads to intolerance, hatred, and ironically the rationalization of values contrary to those supposedly held by religious folks. Elitist? You bet.

But in practice, I am extremely tolerant of "believers". From family to friends, I don't hate, despise, and ridicule people because they practice their religion. I object when their religion tries to take away my rights or the rights of others. If asked, I will honestly express my views of revealed religion. If this offends them, so be it.

All religion is based on Sun worship. Look it up. There are numerous "gods" that have the exact story of Jesus, but they are centuries OLDER. Start with Horus.

Questions:
Who made God?
What is the meaning of life?
Where is the end of the atmosphere?

Please help me!!

Least religious and look a the corruption in our government.. . . we have one of the least growing population too. . .

You folks read too much into this as far as cause and effect. We have the highest taxes, a socialist/communist government, a one party system, and loosing employers. If all that is worth the lack of religion then good for you . . . personally I can see that this state has many problems and this is just fluff, Religion has nothing to do with the good or the bad here - maybe you liberals are not a smart as you think

I truly believe one can be "non-religious", but possess morals, abide by unwritten codes of conduct and behavior, living as decent, respectful citizens with no malice toward another human being.

I feel that these good people do believe in a higher power; they just don't need to go to church to act out their beliefs for someone else's benefit.

It begins within the heart, mind and soul, enhanced by goodness towards their fellowman. Beware of those who thump the Bible too loud and too often; they're most likely covering up their own sins against humanity while they pass the collection plate.

this poll is misleading. people are religious in ma they just choose not to push it on others all the time everywhere like the darker states. education and culture is key and ma has a wealth and healthy dose of both. if MA wasnt so friggin cold id move back but while im young, IM IN MIAMI HAHA

Reading you clowns that believe that you are somehow intellectually superior to anybody that is just enough of a hayseed to actually believe that there may be something else worth believing in other than self-important jagoffs and cable TV is but another example of the elitist nonsense that I elected to leave behind years ago. I would like to see a poll that demostrates the level of bitterness, self-loathing and around negativity that occurs around the country so that I could compare it to this map to see if it differs at all. I've been to the Pacific Northwest, the West Coast, I've lived in the Midwest and Southeast and I'm from NH and I've got to tell you that there is no misery like NE misery. You "highly intelligent", "more productive" "more law abiding" people make me laugh when the "NE is superior because..." speech starts. Cheer up spring is coming in a few months.

I will glady protest and disagree with ANY organization that counts "So Long Mass" and "Keith" among its followers.

I love New England and I'll never leave. Also lol @ butthurt rednecks.

Logic & Reason > Magic and Superstition.

I think that people tend to believe in something big, powerful and immortal that can help them. It begins with go.

For religious people its God.
For the the non-religious its government.

Once you look at it this way, a lot of the partisan divide in this country makes sense. It explains why conservatives tend to feel the same way on a variety of seemingly unrelated issues and why liberals tend the feel the opposite way about the same unrelated issues.

Hey MA, in order to have an abortion, you would first need to be pregnant. Abortions are included in teen pregnancy stats. Also, if you look MA also has a lower abortion rate than most of the rest of the country.

We get married up here, we are just smart enough not to do it at 18, which is one of the biggest reasons behind high divorce rates. Those who wait until their late 20's / early 30's to get married have far lower divorce rates.

Really people, grow up. Stop insulting others who are expressing their beliefs. If you believe in God, good for you. If you do not, great. That does not give either group the right to insinuate that the other group is ignorant.

To quote Colonel Nick Fury, my god has a hammer.

The least-religious states are the ones with the highest standards of living, while the most-religious states are generally the ones with the most poverty and social malaise. The same is true on a global scale - religion is important to Africans, but quaint to Europeans. I think that the religiosity of the various states is the result of the level of suffering and poverty in those regions. Those with easy lives tend to be more satisfied with them and have less need to seek the support of a community or find solace in the hope of a hereafter. If the economy craters to the point where people are starving in Massachusetts, God will make a come-back in a big way.

I'd be curious to see what the percentages would be like in France, or Sweden, or the Czech Republic. Lower than 20%, perhaps lower than 10%, I'd say.

People, I think the American Indians had it right. They worshipped all thing natural, the sun, moon earth, wind water and all of natures wonders. They only ate what they need and replenished nature and thanked their gods for all they had. We tried to introduce them to organized religion that icluded the greed of wanting their nature, their mother earth. Since then we have really caused a natural disaster, not the least of which was the "Industrial Revolution that started in the northeast and has proceeded to destroy all that is natural and all that was the Americam Indian. In so doing we wiped out a wonderful race of people and destroyed our natural resources. Perhaps if we worshipped their "Gods" we wouldn't be in the natural disaster we now call our America.

It is a fact that in areas that are more religious there is a lower level of education and generally intelligence. Any basic research study with simple regressions would show this to be true.

This does NOT however mean that a more religious person is less educated or intelligent. There are smart religious people and dumb atheists. We all realize that.

Arguing against the correlation between religion - poverty - lack of education is naive. People who are less well off tend to be less educated: Fact. People who are less well off tend to lean more heavily on religion: Fact.

No one is saying that a PERSON who is religious isn't smart. We are saying that in AREA that is more religious has a lower level of education. Bringing up examples of intelligent people that are also religious proves absolutely nothing

I don't think all religious people are idiots; I know some people with strong faith who are also Mensa material. In that regard I find some of the comments in response to this story to be very disturbing.

I do agree, though, that there are lots of people who use religion as a crutch in their daily lives to avoid having to think for themselves and to deny realities they consider unpleasant, and that practices of this nature run strongest in areas like the South where religious fervor is strongest. I doubt you'd ever find "Jesus Saves Auto Salvage" outside the Bible Belt (for the curious, it's on the east side of Oklahoma City).

Standing alone I'm also not sure whether asking "Is religion an important part of your daily life?" should be interpreted to mean some states are more religious than others. Assuming that religion means believing in a higher being, or being kind to other people... what if they asked "Is thinking about being kind to your fellow man an important part of your daily life?" I'm not sure the results to this type of question would make other states look so religious compared to the Bay State.

Glad to hear it! Religion breeds ignorance.

If you don’t believe there’s a God, you’d better be right.
I, for one, am sad about this poll. This country was built on the premise of God as well as the freedom of choosing which religion to follow without prosecution.

Intolerant elite liberals and uneducated backwood religous types. It seems both are really flip sides of the same coin, the major difference is whether they get up on a Sunday morning to make it to services or Mass, etc.

If religion gets you through the day or a bad time I'm all for it. If you are tryng to bother or convert me, after I've said no thank you politely I'm not. No matter the belief, nothing ruins a good time like being told you're going to burn in hell or that I'm an idiot for believing whatever I believe. The idea is that you belief or lack of belief is your business no one else's. I like it that way.

I like MA other than the snow lately, it has good and bad points like everywhere else.

#223 - Right on!

Opiate of the masses...NSS

Where does Mass rank for believing in Global Warming and other such environmental hocus pocus? I bet Mass citizens are more into their phoney baloney Green movements than the more religious states. As people get more educated they get less religious, but then they trade in their religious irrational guilt and fear for Green irrational guilt and fear. The net result? The same amount of irrational guilt and fear. Only when people embrace rational thought and logic will they be free and happy.

Hmm......see ya in hell. Oh wait I believe in God.

I grew up in Alabama and have lived in the NE for 11 years, 5 in Massachusetts. I understand the knee-jerk reaction to the term "religon" as I grew up around folks who thought all Jews and gays were going to hell (whatever that entails), Catholic priests were atheists (I was raised as a Catholic), and that the world was created 6,000 years ago. When we got to evolution in the high school biology book , we skipped over it without any comment from the teacher. I could never move back to Alabama.
Since that time, I have found myself on a path of explopration including esoteric Christianity, buddhism, meditation yoga. I have a feelin the people polled in MA did not include these types of things in the definition of "religion". And I know a lot of people in MA with similar interests. By the way, Gene Robinson (gay Bishop) seems to me one of the most "spiritual" people around, and his brand of "religion" is in many ways opposed to what most 'Christians" in AL consider religion. It is just too complex to narrow down the way the pole did.
On the other hand, in reading post 223, I found myself in agreement on many points. There are a lot of "rednecks" in MA and I got perturbed when I hear blanket disparagement of all Southerners. And the weather here does suck and most who have spent their life here don't know any better. The people here have a well deserved reputation for being cold, althoug the clihe that "once you get to know them they are good people" also holds some truth. All in all, I hope to move to the mid Atlantic where the weather is better and the people are not religios in the small minded sense. I will take MA over AL , for now, however.

This just in from Gallup, Massachussetts has the least-friendliest, most self-centered, egotistical people in the nation as voted by the rest of the country.

If you are unlucky enough to be a transplant with no choice but to live here, having a connection to a church is just about the only way to make friends and become part of a community. Even then you have to work pretty hard to break through the icy exteriors.

The critics of Anne K (228), specifically numbers 237, 238, and 241, are a bit off base. The Constitution was deliberately written as a secular instrument, a point several of the founders specifically stated. And there were religious people who were happy about this. On the other hand, there were religious people who specifically tried to rewrite the Constitution's Preamble to include direct reference to God and Jesus. They were defeated back in 1787-89, and again when they tried in the nineteenth century.

While the notion of separation of church and state has been traced to a quotation by Jefferson in 1802, the idea goes back in America at least as far as the writings of Roger Williams, who saw religion as a matter between individuals and their god(s), and quite frankly thought a Muslim could rule a country well. Some of the Founding Fathers pursued the inclusion of church/state separation language into state constitutions -- they at least did not see the matter as limited to the Federal level.

It is certainly true that Christians were involved in the founding of the country, and even helped write the Constitution. But Anne K's right in saying that Enlightenment and Deistic thought, including the work of John Locke, was essential to the writing of the Constitution.

"Besides, more than half in MA still said religion is an important part of their daily life."

The survey said that 48% of people in MA said religion is an important part of daily life. That is slightly less than half.

My car runs on gas, not the love of Jesus H. Christ!

Massachusetts had tax supported churches until 1832. We were founded as a Christian community. Check your history.

I guess many of the comments here prove bigotry is not limited to people of religious backgrounds...

Hey Gaudete:
The intollerance you see from us New Englanders is likely a response to having that book shoved down our throats by hypocritical religious fanatics for too long. Religion is fine for the one espousing it's virtues, but when you start telling people they're wrong about what they believe, you alienate independent-thinkers. Here's your proof.

i love this crap
massachusetts is this place in IQ, massachusetts is this palce in enlightenment.
Wake up.
Massachusetts has the highest Taxes per capita
Massachusetts has the hghest number of felony convictions in its state legislature.
Masachusetts has the highest salary for legislative members.
Massachusetts has the highest number of state employees per capita
Massachusetts has least welfare restrictions int he country.
Massachusetts has had more presdential losers than any other state. (People that lived in that state atthe time they ran)
Massachusetts is the only state to lose thre speakers of the house to crime!
Massachusetts has the highest college tuitions in the country
The 3r best medical care, but the highest medical costs.
Massachusetts is the only state in the union to ignore a mandated referendum by its constituents without any consequences.
Massachusetts is home to the most illustrious college in the country, in Harvard University, Yet harvard has a bank acount of over 20 billion dollars, with contributions of over 2 billion per annum. which means Harvard could charge zero tuition for now until the year 2050 for all its students and not go broke.
yet the state still gives harvard a tax break.
Massachusetts is the only state where The most powerful man in the state governemnt, is brother to the most powerful man in crime, and for 30 years no one ever get close to the catching the criminal, and yet no one ever investigates his brother, in fact they give him an even higher paying job as president of UMASS. You know whatthe president of UMASS does? absilutely nothing.

Oh by the way , Massachusetts was founded by people who were extremely religious, and risked their lives to be free to worship as they wished. You were not free to worship as YOU wanted, you were only free to worship as THEY wanted.
Massachusetts is a hotbed for the enviormental nut jobs who view global warming as a religion and worship at al gores feet.

joe public " For religious people its God.
For the the non-religious its government."

I am not religious, and I think our govt. is horrible. We need a small govt. that is constantly under watch by the people. Not this tyrannical BS we have now. Obama? Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Davdev: "Also, if you look MA also has a lower abortion rate than most of the rest of the country."

Seriously? You should check your sources.

Religion /= faith

@ 227 Spend some more time learning how to spell and less time praying. That goes for all of you down south.

There's another statistic that relates, either directly or tangentially, to Massachusetts lower religious affiliations. Massachusetts has the nation's lowest divorce rate and has held that position for nearly a decade. Does this mean that lesser religious fervor equals greater martial success? ;-}

I was born and raised in Louisiana =\. Consider yourselves all lucky.

Thank God we're not religious.

Look at some of these comments. Of course these worthless states up here are not that religious. Why would left wing commies believe in anything else but subverting our nation and making sure that they pretend to to care about less fortunate but then return every night to their $2million homes in Brookline, Cambridge and other anti-american places?

You know Einstein also said:

I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details.
Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.
My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.
The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge.
Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe-a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.

also:
This most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being."

- Isaac Newton
("General Scholium," in Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, Isaac Newton. 1687

Probably the leading paleontologist alive today, Simon Conway Morris, the scientist who discovered the significance of the Cambrian explosion of animal life, writes in his seminal book, Life's Solutions, that he is "convinced" that nature's success in the lottery of life has "metaphysical implications."
and

We are, by astronomical standards, a pampered, cosseted, cherished group of creatures.. .. If the Universe had not been made with the most exacting precision we could never have come into existence. It is my view that these circumstances indicate the universe was created for man to live in."

- John O'Keefe (astronomer at NASA

and

It is, for example, impossible for evolution to account for the fact than one single cell can carry more data than all the volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica put together."

"It now seems to me that the findings of more than fifty years of DNA research have provided materials for a new and enormously powerful argument to design."

- Anthony Flew
Professor of Philosophy, former atheist, author, and debater

and so many more.

So if Mass. is not religious, why to the bars close so early? WTF? And what's with the no liquor on Sundays crap? Ha, we have drive thru liquor stores down South.

This map isn't so surprising. Faith is for those that don't want to know the truth. Religion has caused the world nothing but trouble since people started practicing it. I wouldn't have such a problem if all religion did was spread love and happiness but like everything else it gets convoluted and corrupted.

Look at all the problems religion causes in this world, now I'm not saying it doesn't help things, but overall how much blood needs to be shed to enforce your doctrine. Why can't peace , love and happiness dictate our lives, instead of doom and gloom. All the bible is, is doom and gloom, what are all Christians doing? They are waiting for Armageddon so that they can be saved. It's all based on death not love and living, you are all waiting to die.

Why can't we just judge each other based on the fact that we are all human, and inherently we are all different yet that is our common ground. That is where we will find peace.

Woww.. I'm not surprised by most of these comments. It's no secret that we are known for being one of the most unfriendliest, self-centered, unhappiest states and one of the most unreligious. Hmmm. Most of these comments prove just how ignorant and judgmental MA residents can be. Charles and Gaudete make the most sense.
(Definitely stopped reading after #22)

Amen steveh

The scary thing is that with 48%, just short of a majority, we qualify for third least religious....

The more people change, the more they stay the same. In NE our religions of choice are: our accomplishments, our degrees and our sense of that we are just so much smarter than anybody else. We are our own god.

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. ...They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen." Romans 1:21-22;25

Masshole here. The way that most people here look at things is to question everything, at least what I have observed from the people around me in MA. I think that is what makes people more intelligent. Most people here take it upon themselves to ask questions when they don't know or don't get why that may be the answer. Now for me and religion, I have a Pagan mother, a Lutheran father, a Muslim Aunt (and she is probably the most religious) and mostly Christian family. Me? Well... I have sat down and read the Old Testament, the Holy Bible, and the Quran I put those books in the same catogory as UFOs, Bigfoot, The Big Bang Theory (I think this is the best answer BTW, since is backed by the most factual answers but yet still can't be fully tested but is getting there.) and ANYTHING else that does not have a FULL answer yet. I won't say that there is no God, but I won't say there is one. Why do I say this? There is no real FACTUAL answer to this yet. Maybe people are going to yell at me and say 'SURE THERE IS! LOOK AT THIS AND THAT!' but until we find out where everything in the Universe came from, I will not sit on an answer yet.
The problem I see though with religion is that they just want you to take there word as fact. I do not like this one bit. You should NEVER take anyone's word as fact. Now not all religious intuitions do this. Only the really prominent ones, ie. Christianity and the such.(sorry to say that to you nice people, and I really do think most of you are nice, up to the point I tell you that I don't believe in a god, most of the time.) So yes I do see a direct relation between intellect and religion. I really wish I didn't and I hope this will change.

Oh and Einstein who neither a Atheist or believed in a God.

Also, yes many founding members of our country were Christians and such, but you have to remember they took the time to make sure that NO religion was to ever get involved in the government or the laws of the people. They did this for a reason, every nation that took religion in to help make laws trampled peoples rights, freedoms and there liberty's if they did not agree with there view.

Now this whole thing with liberals and conservatives. WHO CARES WHAT YOU ARE?! Do you really need to be part of a group to help you decide what you think is morally right or wrong? No. Any time you are questioning something you are going to do think of this. "Don't do unto others what you wouldn't have them do unto you". People shouldn't be lumped into groups like this. I take a liberal view with social programs and drugs laws but take a VERY conservative view on gun control and crimes. So tell me, does that make me a liberal or a conservative? All my views are mixed as should pretty much everyone else.

Sorry for the long post...

Just another reason to be a proud citizen born in Massachusetts!!!

I'm not surprised since Massachusetts is the most educated state. Seems they know more then the rest of the country or even the world.

What takes a bigger leap of faith? . . .

To propose that the sum of all scientifice knowledge definitively proves that there is no God ?
or
To propose that (perhaps because of what we do not know) there might be a God?

For a good book on this topic, try "When Science Meets Religion" by Ian Barbour

Religion is a believe system. So everyone has a religion. Unfortunately,MA has legalized sodomy(homosexuality) thru gay marriage. Look up the meaning of sodomy.There is no such thing as gay marriage. Marriage is God ordained and is betwen a man and a woman.what we need is a return to moral values.

"Religious": Such an ambiguous word. But then, look at other stats: Divorce rate (2005 data): Mississippi (No. 1 religious): 4.5 per 1,000 pop.; Massachusetts: 2.2/1,000. Murder (2007): Miss: 7.1 per 100,000 pop.; Mass: 2.9/100,000. Maybe they spend so much more time in church because they've got so much more to repent. . .

Gotta love all the hate coming from the people who are supposed to have a "loving religion".

Just one more thing...what if all of you who deny God are wrong? Think about it, even for a half a minute. What if there is a heaven and a hell, just as the bible says? There is no middle ground here. You can thump your chest and be proud of your Christian bashing, but we all one day, will face our Creator and give an account for all we've said, done and thought. The fact you don't believe it doesn't make it false. Twenty years ago I would have agreed with many of you, now I am just so sorry for you.

Nadie

Is anyone else proud of this like me? Its complete BS anyways. Yea...like 46 percent of people who live in Massachusetts really think about their religion on a daily basis. So when you flip off a driver who cuts you off on I-93 or when you get into a fight with someone because they moved the lawn chair you had saving your parking space...are you really letting God effect your daily living? This poll really should be called which state has the most honest poll responders.

GO MASSACHUSETTS!!!!!!!!

maybe you can debate what color to paint hell

in Ohio where we live like animals and leave kids in closets and burn their dead bodies (cincinnati)

What is that Internet law that says that any Internet post will eventually mention Hitler (Thank you wikipedia: "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one." Godwin's law)

The Massachusetts version seems to be that ANY unhinged rant, bitch, whine or moan about the state will eventually bring up gay marriage.

And today's Godwin occurence is brought to you by #73, NorthernbornSouthernbychoice. Thank you for playing.

Nadie, what if your wrong and you die and are faced with Allah. Since you don't believe in him you get to go to Hell too. Or what if it's Budha or Ganesh?
See where your argument fall's down? There are so many possibilities to be wrong, simply pretending to believe in one so that you hedge your bet when you die is absurd. A belief is God is either something you have or you don't.

Also, MA, I was wrong about Mass's abortion rate, and for that I stand corrected, though it still has nothing to do with a low teen pregnancy rate. And Maine is just as unreligious as MA and their abortion rate is extremely low.

...and MA is the toilet of the country. No surprise!

6 of the bottom 10 religious states are new england states.. and the top 10 religious states are southern states.. go figure

Quite a few people are saying that New Englanders are intolerant on this board. Why are some of the few states in the U.S that allow gay marriage in New England then?

If you grew up in a hard place to live you might cry out for God too...and you would probably find Him.

to Jim K and Mr. Body:
Americans, in the era of the revolution, were a distinctly unchurched people. The highest estimates for the late eighteenth century make only about 10 to 15 percent of the population church members. The vast majority of these members were women. Considering the low status of women, most particularly in regard to politics, it is fair to assume that the churches did not have much of an impact on the Constitution. Americans then were far less traditionally religious, far les likely to belong to churches, and far less influenced in their politics by religious leaders than they are today.
Omission of reference to God or Christ in the Constitution was bitterly criticized by some during debates in the states during its ratification. Since its inception, every effort to reword any Section or Article to include references to God, Saviour, Ruler of Nations, or Jesus Christ has failed.
The absurdity of the claim that the framers somehow overlooked, or misunderstood, the political and religious implications of leaving God out of the nation’s founding document is borne out not only by George Washington’s assumption of the distinction between religious affiliation and citizenship but by the intensity and clarity of the public debate that preceded ratification of the Constitution. The founders knew exactly what they were doing, and so did their fellow citizens on both sides of the issue. Conservative clergymen denounced the godlessness of the Constitution precisely because they understood that it did indeed pose an obstacle not only to government interference with religion but to religious interference in government. The image of the founders as devoutly religious men is an integral and necessary element of modern religious correctness; if rationalism and humanism permeated the character and thought of the iconic revolutionary figures, it becomes much more difficult to construct a modern scenario in which secularism is portrayed as un-American.

all these people on thier deathbed, or if they are in an accident all cry out for god to save them. Remember there are no athesists in foxholes.

Say what you will about religion but Massachusetts has one of the lowest divorce rates among the 50 states. The nation is as strong as its families, and Massachusetts leads the way.
Google the divorce rates in the southern states and don't be surprised!

Show me were all the porn dollars are being spent ,on a map. It's a multi billion dollar industry. Then at least I'll know who is lying?

I bet the highest number of wall street people that don't give a rats grass about weather or not
you lose your life savings come from the highest IQ, lowest religious states. I don't fear death or god, so I am going to take all I can get. Religion , that guilt etc gets in the way of my ambition an intellect.

"Is God one of Man's greatest blunders, or is Man one of God's?"
-Nietzsche

Oh, what a wonderful thing it seems that this Commonwealth has been dubbed with a title of little faith. To be joyous of this fact just shows how irrational non-religious people can be. Let's not forget that it is more often that not religion that teaches against apathy and selfishness. Also, let's remember that people of faith are behind more civil services than those who claim not to follow a certain religion. Sure, the name of religion has a horrible reputation. The Crusades were done in the name of God; Hindus invented the idea of suicide bombing; Buddhists have controlled Tibet in oppressive ways. However, atheist Adolf Hitler murdered about 12,000,000 human beings in the Holocaust based off the idea that the Aryans were an evolved race that stood superior to all others. Both atheists and theists have done horrid things. However, gleefulness is a pompous reaction when reviewing these statistics.

...thank God for death............

48% is still too high. Religion teaches people to believe the unbelievable and to question nothing. No wonder this country is a mess.

Biblical Christian Definition of Religion:
"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit (amplified version adds "and help and care for") the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world" James 1:27
Yeah for the 48% that are religious, my heart is in these ranks.

Re. #12: Off-topic, but "ignorami" is not a word. In Latin, "ignoramus" is not a noun but a conjugated form of a verb, literally meaning "we do not know".

People who use pretentious nonexistent plural forms like that and "boxen" and "penii" in hopes of sounding smart are my favourite kind of idiot.

I am reading and I see a lot of "hard hearts" unwilling to let God in. Forget about what everyone has written above. If you take a serious moment to think about the end of your own life someday - you would be able to consider how serious your soul is to those who love you. If all you have ends on that day you should probably figure out what you would like to do with the rest of your days. See the world and eat, drink and be merry. If you believe in God you know that heaven is a much better place than earth and that helping others find God is one of your most precious gifts to Him. Sorry folks. I know it is a lot less "fun" to be nice on a blog but without faith in God I'd be using my education to rip as many posters that don't share MY point of view. That's the way things are today but it really isn't much different than it was 2000 years ago. Have a nice rest of your life on earth but remember God doesn't promise anyone that their life will be like heaven. Heaven will be like heaven.

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT RELIGION IS MERELY AN INSTITUTIONAL EXPRESSION OF FAITH ... TO SAY SOMEONE IS NOT RELIGIOUS DOES NOT EQUAL THEY HAVE NO FAITH.
TO SAY OR EVEN DEMONSTRATE THAT SOMEONE OR A GROUP IS NOT RELIGIOUS IS NOT AT ALL SURPRISING. SO CALLED RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS HAVE BECOME LITTLE MORE THAN BUSINESSES OR CORPORATIONS HIGHLY FOCUSED ON PR, FINANCIAL WELLBEING AND PROFESSIONALISM. THE O'MALLEY CHURCH OF BOSTON IS AN EXCELLENT
EXAMPLE. IN THAT CORPORATION JUST FOUR OF OF THE NEW LAY-HIRED PROFESSIONALS EACH MAKSE MORE THAN A QUARTER MILLION $$$ PER YEAR.. IN FOUR YEARS THESE FOUR INDIVIDUALS WOULD EARN MORE THAN 20 PRIESTS WOULD EARN IN THIER LIFE TIME. YET O'MALLEY-CHURCH IS ALSO PLANNING TO CUT THE REIREMENT BENEFITS OF THEIR DISABLED AND RETIRED PRIESTS. DOESN'T THIS DEMONSTRATE THE TRUE VALUES OF THIS PARTICULAR CORPORATION?
SMALL WONDER THAT PEOPLE DISSOCIATE THEMSELVES FROM SUCH A 'RELIGIOUS BUSINESS'.
MY LIFETIME EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN THAT THERE IS A DEEP FAITH AMONG THE DESINSTITUTIONALIZED PERSONS, QUIETLY LIVING THEIR FAITH AND DOING GOOD WORKS WHILE PRAYING TO A VER REAL PERSONAL GOD. PERHAPS WHEN THE INSTITUTIONS RETURN TO REAL FAITH, THE PEOPLE WILL RETURN.
I CAN HEAR THE ECHO OF JESUS' WORDS ... YOU HAVE MADE MY FATHER'S HOUSE A DEN OF THIEVES !!!

To those who declare themselves not religious: DO NOT celebrate or take days off for
Christmas, New Year (based on the year Jesus was born), Easter, Passover, Jewish holidays, MLK day, forgetting any?
You don't believe so why ride the coattails of those who do? Come up with your own celebrations.
And for those who are pseudo religious - you should know better than to lie to the children to make them believe in santa or the easter bunny, just to let them down. Celebrating days like these should be about more than a commercialized nation like it's become. Please think about it . . . for our childrens' sake!

Jesus spoke this parable:
"Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee (religious sect) and the other a publican (tax collector ie, extortioner).
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican (tax collector).
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes (10%) of all that I possess.
And the publican (tax collector) standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
I tell you, this man (the publican) went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
Luke 18:10-14 KJV

After reading some of the responses in this blog I must say that it is quite sad to see such egregious vile masquerading as commentary.

Whatever one's religious heritage (or none), it is hard to stomach the glaring examples of pathetic discourse one has sadly come to expect from the pseudo-intelligent, self-absorbed, holier-than-thous (pun intended) among the disreligous who look down their noses at religious folks.

The negative, pessimistic and dour elements of their statements reveal more about their lack of understanding of philosophy and theology than the supposed "enlightened" positions they proudly hold onto like a fist-full of ashes.

With the dye cast.. why not lobby to revoke tax expempt status of churches, mosques, and synogogues?? These sacred cows have taken lands and tremendous assets and should be taxed to pull their own weight.

Two things, there is something bigger than all of us out there and to think otherwise is pretty arrogant.

Two, if MA residents are so smart why do you live in overpriced homes where its too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter, sit in your cars 3 hours a day to get to and from work and have a overall crappy outlook on life. I lived in MA for 25 years and sounded just like all of you ignorant snobs. Do youself a favor and move FAR west, life is easier and the quality of life is beyond compare.

Best regards,
God's country (I assume that I do not need to point out the irony to all of you Einsteins.

Oh, please! Many of you anti-religious bigots aren't so free of "religion" after all. You worship at the altar of big government. You continue to vote for incompetence and corruption and happily give up more and more of your liberty. And you're the smartest people around? I grew up in MA and find people there no less provincial than other parts of the country. Sorry folks, Boston is not the center of the universe. I've lived in different parts of the country. There are plenty of well-educated and free-thinking people outside of Rt. 128.
The truly smart people are libertarians, who truly believe in tolerance and individual liberty and responsibility, including the freedom to believe or not believe in God and respect those with whom they differ.

I wonder if all these comments would come out the same if they were said
in person or if the posters were actually identified. It seems this type of
communication brings out the worst in a lot of people.

Well then its true. Mass is a living hell....

Ken, love is love, be it between man and woman or man and man. Christians know more about fear than love. Fear of God, fear of going to hell, all that garbage. Don't say it isn't fear. If you didn't fear the outcome of life and death you would stop devoting your life to God. It's not that most people here in NH or anywhere else in New England deny God. We just don't care to find out. We tend to focus on reality and not some story that could be true or false. Out of those people who aren't religious, if you asked a number of them they would probably say they are agnostic. They don't deny the possibility of a god or divine creator, they just don't know. Some even believe in a divine creator but nothing more, and they don't spend their life trying to appease that creator. The thing I like most about being an antithiest is the fact that I don't have a reset button if I make mistakes like most religions have. I can't pray for forgiveness. I can't confess my sins and be forgiven. I just have to live a life that I enjoy while doing my best not to hurt others. If I mess up I have to deal with reality. I don't believe in heaven or hell either. I believe that when you die you die, like the animals we are. Heaven and hell are just thoughts. If you spend your dying moments knowing you did good in life, knowing that you accomplished goals, knowing that you helped others, that's heaven! If you die knowing that you failed, lived a meaningless life, or hurt others, you die with regret and that is hell. I don't judge people because of their religion. Religious people just tend to be the people with more moral flaws.

to John from PA:
Liberty is not everyone's top value; utility (happiness/eudaimonia/well-being) is. See utilitarianism. Liberty is good when it increases utility; it's not good when it leads to needless suffering. To answer the question of when something increases (or decreases) utility, use science. The scientific method (compared to other methods of "knowing") yields the most accurate measurements of utility and predictions about cause-&-effect.

After skimming through the comments, I noticed a large majority of people refering to Christianity when it comes to religion. People denounce the South for being more religious and less intelligent then the Northeast. Although stats do not lie, it is possible to be religious without allowing it to interfere with intelligence. Albert Einstein was Jewish as am I and we do not allow the religion to stand in our way of expanding our knowledge.

We do not know what questions were asked in the survey. If there was a question about how often do you attend church, my answer would be never. I don't attend church, I go to temple on the high holidays and celebrate other holidays at home with my family. Does this make me any less religious then people who go to church once a week to attend mass? I do not seem to think so. Same holds true of people from other faiths.

The states south of the Mason-Dixion line are more passionate about their version of Christianity then anywhere else. Some go strictly by the book or a particular book. This does provide a block to accepting other people's theories. This is why teaching Darwinism is a problem in the South and not the Northeast. I'm sure they would still dispute that the Earth is the center of the universe and the world is flat if the Church said so.

Well-educated, religious people are around here but for the most part, they are not Christians.

I wonder if the Gallup methodology included non-English speakers. Non-English or limited English speakers are notoriously under-counted in such surveys. Three decades ago, there was the "secularization hypothesis" based on studies and surveys such as this. A new version of the "secularization thesis" might emerge by people "hoping" for secularization or "dispassionately" studying "religious trends". That thesis turned out to be false. So too will new iterations. The true question will remain. The question is not how much faith We have, but who God is and what He wants from us. No matter how much education you have, or how much faith you have, the big question is In Whom will you put your trust? How about Jesus?

Tom More is a pompous jacka$$. Why don't climb down off of your perch and address a single fact that has been raised?

I love how the only place the religious and their apologists have to hide is behind the "intolerance" card. You can check all of my posts. Do me, no yourself, a favor and respond to a single item I've raised. Nobody will! You can't! All you can do is deflect and hide behind your ignorance (or apathy).

Yes, there are plenty of people like myself who are NOT okay with infantile-minded fairy tales shaping our society and murdering thousands by the day.

The only major conflict on this earth is due to religious difference. It's why tribes of the same people kill each other. It's why the middle east is so split. It has caused every last damn war in existence. It continues to murder en mass, though slaughters, genocides... Without religion, there would be no need for countries. Religion is why people have drawn lines in the sand from day one. It is why people choose to flee or stay.

It's PATHETIC. Do you understand that concept? Pathetic?? You need to realize that there are those of us out here who are not mentally lazy enough to allow this crap to continue unchecked. Yes, I am indeed intolerant of fools who don't use their brain, and then develop and spread nothing but hatred. I have never done wrong to a single person, beyond common unpleasantries. I don't go around punching people on the street. I don't knock old ladies into the gutter. I am outwardly respectful to anyone I meet. In fact, most would say I am a more than pleasant person to encounter. However, that does not mean I am going to sit back and allow this society to continue its downward spiral because the we still have those amongst us who believe in rightous myths that teach nothing but separation and a velvet-rope system for humanity.

Fact: If we were all the same religion (as in, NO religion), the world would be a beautiful place. The only thing that would suffer is your egotistical assumption that you are higher up on God's list for your ticket into "Heaven". That wonderful non-existant Candyland that was disproved once we flew past it!

Many of the comments here suggest that because the Massachusetts population is generally better educated, it is therefore less religious. I think this confusing correlation with causation. There is actually plenty of good data the shows more educated people are actually more religious. The General Social Survey (which I quote at the end of my note) done by the University of Chicago shows that people with post-college education are the most likely, not the lesslikely, to attend church.

Also, American society is currently the most educated it has ever been. Scholars of religious history also think that our current time period might be the most religious time period in history (it is a common misconception to think "people used to be more religious back then" as the data doesn't seem to support it).

Lastly, I would also point out the power of religion and faith to educate. Many of our best schools in Massachusetts (although not all) such as Harvard and Boston College were founded with explicitly religious missions and goals. I would also add that the Massachusetts Puritans (a deeply religious people), with very little resources, created a society that talk all to read - men, women, children, the elderly. These Puritans - struggling to survive in colonial Massachusetts - created the most literate society in the history of the world at that time. By way of comparison, William Shakespeare's daughter - a rough comtemporary of the Puritans - was not taught to read and write.

Data on the General Social Survey: In the US, religious behavior also increases with education level, according to raw data from the 2004 General Social Survey, which indicates that 30.4% of those with a graduate degree attend religious services weekly or more, a statistically significant proportion, higher than any lesser educated group.[12] Further the group with the highest percentage of “never attending” was composed by those with only a high school education or less.

1. why does this blog have almost 350 hits if no one in ma is religious
2. why do the people who write in the other blogs write like neighbors
3. why are the people who write about religion so hostile. this is sick
4. that´s why we have so many wars in the world.
5- the people in ma. just hate each other.
6. i moved out and now see a better world.

rvcarl:

That is a GREAT point! I would NEVER say this stuff in public. Can you guess why?? Hmmmmm????

There is no greater intolerance than religion. We atheists are undergound for a reason. Our best representatives have historically been killed or "converted" (aka tortured) throughout time. Just some of that good ol' religious "love and acceptance", right?

Nobody in their right mind would preach the truth as I do in public. We would no doubt be killed by some narrow-minded zealot who is far too afraid of opening their mind, and would rather just kill the message. End that voice that tells you to question.

Why ask questions when you can settle for man-made inventions? God made us in his image, right?? My, my aren't we lucky!! I mean, God could have made any other form on this earth in his image, but chose us... wow, how amazingly convenient.

Caveman #1: "Ugh, ugh... man make things... something must make man... ugh, ugh"

My life has completely changed since i met Jesus. I now know what happiness is all about and have answered many of my questions about life. Living now has a meaning, i´m happy, love people, forgive and my children have changed. We are finally a family thanks to Jesus. We are not all bitter in Boston, my friends are also good Catholics and that´s what makes us strong.

I don't believe it. I never recieved a call from Gallup. Gallup is the kind of people that you find in the mall during saturday afternoon rush hours. Most of the people are young teenager that obviusly are not religious.
I think that Bostonian don't their religion private and they don't feel confortable discussing religion in public. Unlike the southern states where people about it.

As a Vermonter, its no surprise that we are number ONE, the least religious state. Other than the Governor and Lt. Governor, we are controlled by a far left wing Congressional delegation and state legislature. We are leading the way toward the moral decay of the entire country.

Thats wonderful Adrian you can sense the peace and joy in your heart from your words. I too know what it's like to live without and with Jesus. One of my favorite quotes comes from Cardinal O'Malley (whom I have some disagreements with by the way) is "you know you've reached spirtual maturity when you know the difference bewteen having fun and being happy". For many years I had fun in many ways but never have I been so at peace since I decided to serve Christ and develop a relationship with him through prayer, service, Mass, and the Sacraments.

The Soviet Union was an athiest state. Millions of people were killed under their rule. And now look at Russia today after decades of athiest rule. Their society is falling apart. Is that where we want to end up?

Don't think for a moment that 'science' is devoid of dogma and intellectual intolerance. It is another form of 'religion' in that it believes itself to have the answers to, or the ability to answer, life's questions. Each, religion and science, exists within respective a paradigm which is self referential and is unwilling to entertain cosmologies significantly differing from it's own. Human arrogance is the issue here. There is reality and there are two major trains of belief which claim to understand it; science and religion. I specifically use 'belief' because science tends to circumvent the fact that it is a system based on just that. The scientific method is flawed by it's dependence on human interpretation. Research is hampered by countless agendas. Statistics within research data are skewed to fit these agendas. To be human precludes pure objectivity.
Lest this sound anti-science, it is not. Religions foundations are equally flawed, but in different fashions.
The two are really cut from the same cloth, human foible. As a Massachusetts resident who is in the scientific/medical field and a deeply SPIRITUAL person, I have beliefs, and I have a faith. One is an intellectual property, one is emotional.
I depend on both for different areas in my life. Neither gives me THE answers, only more questions. When I feel one is giving me an ANSWER it is suspect and open to deeper investigation. None of us KNOWS anything. 'God', by whatever name or formula one uses, is greater than any of our attempts to contain it/him/her/them.
"The source of the light is the source of all, and cannot be limited by that which it manifests."

The level of intolerence being voiced on this thread, from so many people, may come from the indignation and frustration that many New Englanders have felt for so long over the increasing erosion of the American creed of 'religious freedom' and 'separation of church and state' in this country. I venture to say that non-religious people are VERY sick of religious principles infiltrating our government's decisions. I personally, am sick of hearing from religious people about how immoral and misguided I am.

It can all make you very angry, and yes, elitist. To know that you are looked down on people for not being of the devoted faithful, when you know they have nothing over you on morality.

.....To elaborate: Many religious people try to persuade you to be like them because *they* know the "right" way, and your way is wrong; the unenlightened are misguided, missing out, condemned to punishment, and not doing your duty as decreed by God (which is offensive in and of itself). So, when you find out that non-religious states have higher IQs, better education, longer living marriages, and quite possibly a better life, an elitist reaction might be natural and understandable, no?

Religion is a crutch. If you need a crutch to walk, I'm not going to take it away from you. But, I might pity you in the same way I used to pity the injured child at recess when the rest of us were running around having fun.

Everyone needs a crutch at some point in their lives, but it seems many religious types instead opt for the comfort and security of the wheelchair and live perpetually with its limitations.

I hope they have a ramp to Heaven too.

i hope everyone who reads or skims these posts looks at #103.
True Christians know that its all about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, not about being part of any religious process or forcing beliefs on others. Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Atheists all believe in God, but they reject Him for thier own beliefs. Satan and his demons believe that God exists, but obviously they dont accept Him. I live in MA and I know many Christians who would gladly share our faith and beliefs, but we arent bigots and we arent haters. We are not missing out, nor are we condemned to punishment. We might even be having more fun than you, "A". Yes, we believe our way is right and are more than willing to discuss why. Many times people start asking but dont want to hear what we have to say and therefore call us intolerant.
For any one who thinks Christians are idiots, think about where you get your info. Honestly, even we think some are idiots because they misrepresent. Unfortunately most of these misrepresenting Christians get facetime in the media and movies. If you all want to show your intelligence, go to church and ask some people what their relationship with God is like, then come post your insults.
GIO i think your caps lock button is broken.
Props to e'rybody posting scripture.
God bless all your lives.

If you think living in a truly secular society is so great, go read about what life was like in Nazi Germany or in the Soviet Union.

Their form of intolerance was much worse than saying that certain types of sex are wrong or that certain ways of avoiding the undesired consequences of sex are wrong.

Their form of intolerance was killing member of other groups they disagreed with.

Pick your poison, I'll choose the religious society every time.

Joe Public:

You really don't know what you're talking about. Not surprising.

Nazi Germany atheist? Who were they killing and why?? Oh, I see. They were probably killing Christians too, right? Oh wait..... Glad to see there was no Christian-based agenda there...

I guess you have the good fortune of never needing logic. Congrats!

Hitler was an atheist. The nazi movement was a SECULAR movement. They believed in the superiority of the ARYAN race. They didn't mass murder Christians because Germany was traditionally a Christian majority country- but stopped acting like one after Hitler came to power, so this wouldn't have gone over too well. Instead they looked for scapegoats like Jews, gays, and gypsies.

They killed lots of Christians in Poland, France, England, Netherlands, Belgium, etc when they attacked those countries.

Hitler was a christian. That's a known fact.

One can call the Soviet Union a completely secular state (though there are even arguments about that), but calling Nazi Germany completely secular is an overstatement. Hitler, who had been baptized Catholic, never specifically renounced his religion, unlike some atheistic Nazis. He seems to have been more interested in having the state take over and run the Christian churches, which it did, instead of abolishing them. There were even Nazi Christmas ornaments . . . now there's a grotesque image.

Of course, if one is going to cite the Soviets (or Nazis) for a secular society, secularists could cite Aztec society, with its daily human sacrifices, or Iran after the 1979 revolution, as examples of religious societies which most Americans would not want. All of which goes to prove very little, as most contemporary Americans neither worship Aztec gods nor idealize the Soviet state.

The dogma about intelligence sounds mighty religious to me. How is geocentric different from Boston-centric? Worshiping yourselves in arrogance is no less unattractive than worshiping a god in arrogance.

Didn't Hitler hang the the Nazis murder the decidedly pacifistic Bonhoeffer on a set of meat hooks? Unfortunately, it appears everybody's indulging in a little historical revisionism here.

“As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.” ~ Tripoli of Barbary. Art. 11. - Authored by American diplomat Joel Barlow in 1796, the following treaty was sent to the floor of the Senate, June 7, 1797, where it was read aloud in its entirety and unanimously approved. John Adams, having seen the treaty, signed it and proudly proclaimed it to the Nation.

"The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion". ~ Thomas Paine

"The number, the industry, and the morality of the Priesthood and the devotion of the people have been manifestly increased by the total separation of the Church and the State." ~ James Madison a.k.a. 'The Father of the Constitution of the United States of America

"The United States of America should have a foundation free from the influence of clergy." ~ George Washington

"Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites." ~ Thomas Jefferson

“The insinuation of "In God we trust" and "One nation under God" on our money and Pledge of Allegiance, respectively, are treated, Boston quipped, as if they were hammered in directly by the Founders upon inception of our country. In fact, these were reactions to the fear of "godless Communism" and other factors and didn't take place until the 1950's. There are also remarks and documents that support the "Christian Nation" ideas, but these are on the periphery, with little or no power, flatly overturned, or disregarded and embarrassing. The Northwest Ordinance is held up, for example, by the Religious Right for its wording as if it has the same central role in our government as the U.S. Constitution. Boston observed that in the 19th century, fundamentalist clerics bemoaned the godless nature of the Constitution and strove to amend it to make references to God and Christianity. Now, however, the spiritual descendants of these people are making wild distortions to somehow hallucinate such meaning into the same document.”
~ Free thought Association of West Michigan, Meeting Minutes for June 25, 2003; #141, Topic: Why the Religious Right is Wrong About Separation of Church and State

As people broaden their knowledge horizons, there is less and less space for religious explanations of the world and the human kind.

It is interesting to read the anger and arrogance on some of the postings that pride in linking the non-religiousity of the state to its high IQ and education level. They fail to note that the measure of men do not lie on their intellect. Nor does the quality of life depend solely on it.

Are the 52% the kinds of neighbor, friends, colleagues, politicians, teachers, leaders you can trust and live with? Does intellect give hope to the hopeless and the broken hearted? There are more questions such as these that are more important for a happy and purposeful life. I'm not saying that the state of MA does not have this quality, but the survey does not communicate that aspect.

So even if the link between non-religiousity and intellect is true (although a previous poster mentioned some notable religious men and their great contribution to science), it remains meaningless.

Hi Steve, # 358.
If you think Hitler was a Christian then maybe you should read the Bible and understand what it takes to live your life as a Christian. It's obvious that Hitler was not living his life as a Christian should by murdering, lying, etc. Just because one declares themselves as a Christian, it does not mean that they are. Even the Devil knows scripture and God and all the like. And the AntiChrist will too - this is why the Bible says we will be fooled by them. For your sake, I hope you can distinguish. Take care : )

#364 Have you yourself read the bible? It is FILLED with scripture telling you to kill people for wearing a fabric, for eating shellfish, having your hair a certain way, and many more. Also, if you reply by saying those were for the Israelites.... you do know the passage condemning homosexuality is in the same Book (Leviticus) as those ridiculous things. OH YEAH, the Bible also says to take a woman to her fathers home and KILL HER if she is not a virgin on her wedding day. Or, if an unmarried woman is raped and she was a virgin, the rapist must marry her! AND, if a kid swears at their parents they must be stoned to death!! What a loving god :)! As you people say, the Bible was written with God's inspiration so the writer's were told by god to write this stuff!

I can't believe the number of posts on this article (many outstanding),
but here's my 2 cents: The following are examples of points made by graphs on
my http://LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/graphs.html page:
7 of the smartest 10 states are blue
8 of the least smart 10 states are red.

6 of the 10 states with the lowest divorce rates are blue.
10 of the 10 states with highest divorce rates are red.

4 of the 5 states with the lowest rates of teen pregnancy are blue.
5 of the 5 states with the highest rates of teen pregnancy are red.

17 of the 21 states with highest murder rates are red.

8 of the 8 states with the lowest suicide rates are blue.
8 of the 8 states with the highest suicide rates are red.

Only 3 blue states believe in executing children.
16 red states believe in executing children.

Thanks to insomnia I have had the time to read the previous 365 comments. Some have made valid, heartfelt points while some of you are clearly certifiable. This debate goes far beyond the scope of religion or lack there of. This is a sad example of the ever growing division of our country. How dare we call ourselves the "United States" when we are so clearly divided? United we stand, devided we are and you know what comes next.

The religions that have dominated in this country are based on good behavior, honesty, caring, fairness. I don't go to any of their churches, but I think they are a great advantage to the quality of living in our country. Both sides have elements of nastiness, so it seems to be a draw. I am neither religious nor atheist. I would, however, recomment tolerance and decency to both sides about the other. Above all, keep religious or atheist organizations out of power in government. The worst fear of all is of government-- especially with power to tax individuals income. Sorry to have to say we are doomed unless that is discontinued in the USA.

Fear God and keep his commandments That is when we were a Strong Nation. take God out of our Nation and schools and families we will fall. America is very weak right now. We all have opinions, that does not make them right. The KJV Bible has all the answers for now and what is to come it is our choice to accept or decline. It is a Known fact Every knee shall bow and EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord! You can't change that.

To Karen: Lay off the pipe. Only then might you see the truth.

As one who moved from Virginia to NH in 1984 I have observed the religious and the non-religious, & the differences in "the educated" & "less educated" from the South & the New England. I've also listened to WBZ 1030AM to hear the surprise of locals who learned of a study that Boston was only the 2nd rudest city in America. The point who cares what you know if people don't know that you care.
You want to see real care in New England, go to the farmers. The more educated people seem to be the less care they seem to have for other people as human beings. That's what your really so proud of??

I beg to disagree with John who says that, "It's because religious faith is you taking what you are told at face value and believing it, and educated intelligence is you questioning everything you are told by anyone and everyone." I doubt that John has take the time to truly investigate the historical and intellectual credibility of the Gospel accounts of Jesus' life. I also doubt that John has gone on a serious quest to investigate the claims of Intelligent Design theory. Bet he's taken at face value what his liberal/atheistic professors told him back in college. If you are serious, John, check out Lee Strobel's The Case for Christ and the Case for Faith.

Sean--you have surfaced some difficult concepts in the Bible/Hebrew Scriptures. They can be explained, if understood in context, but only if you have a desire to see the bigger picture. I know that sounds like a cop out, but it isn't. Jesus accepted the Hebrew Scriptures as true and valid and part of a greater story that was unfolding. Many people would call him the greatest human to have ever lived and certainly one of the most loving. I would submit that there are answers if you really want them. Many of us Christians are not nuts. We have intellectual, philosophical, historical reasons for believing and we're not all arrogant or hostile.

To Gary: Lay off the pipe. Only then might you see the truth.

From a scientific and knowledge based perspective, being an atheist takes a greater leap of faith than being a believer. Einstein believed in God as an inescapable conclusion, when he did the math. He did not make the connection to the Divine personality, whence cometh all personality but most people do. I think there are few true atheists, that most are those who shrink from the concept of a just God. It cramps their style. Many see donning the garb of the unbeliever as, in youth, a guilt-free promiscuity and, in later life, a freedom from the fetters of a just life. Go to your room, turn out the light and think about it. ~The Walsh

Not surprised at all!!

RE: 267 “Glad to hear it! Religion breeds ignorance”
No, that was your parents. (Just kidding, you left yourself wide open on that one)
RE: Christianity and IQ
That we believe all life came for something that is alive… What is so unthinkable about that?
It’s quite simple really. We believe that there is more to life and the universe than the mechanics of it. You may look at something like music and be able to explain the mechanics of why notes sound good to the human ear. We look at it and say yes, but there is something more here.
If you never choose to look beyond what you can measure, that is your decision to make. That we choose to look for more does not make us ignorant or childish. In fact, it would be naĂŻve to assume that we have the senses to perceive and measure everything that exists.
RE: Mass
Whoever thinks things are great in this state probably works for the state.

Massachusetts is a left wing liberal embarrassment of a state... This thread is the pits...

Well, Hell is a real place, in the center of the earth and the smarties are going to find that out too.

I have to say N.E. has been one of the best places to live in, to be educated in and all of the above. Oh! and also, how does Hitler and atheism go together? I can't make that connection. In my understanding, people just use Hitler/Nazi-ism as a threat to condemn people with out a specified explanation (kinda like a book I once read and never liked). This leftist winged liberal nut job has to say one thing: viva New England, viva la revolution!!!