Religion
Most Religious States 2026
Religious Adults
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
State | Religious Adults↓ | Religion Is Important | Attend Religious Services | Pray Daily | Believe in God | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Mississippi | 50% | 61% | 54% | 62% | 74% |
 | South Carolina | 46% | 55% | 47% | 57% | 71% |
 | Louisiana | 45% | 54% | 45% | 58% | 72% |
 | South Dakota | 45% | 50% | 50% | 49% | 62% |
 | Utah | 42% | 43% | 48% | 51% | 55% |
 | North Carolina | 41% | 51% | 43% | 54% | 65% |
 | Alabama | 40% | 51% | 44% | 50% | 66% |
 | Arkansas | 40% | 51% | 41% | 58% | 73% |
 | Georgia | 38% | 49% | 38% | 56% | 66% |
 | Kansas | 38% | 43% | 39% | 50% | 63% |
 | North Dakota | 38% | 43% | 43% | 41% | 59% |
 | Oklahoma | 38% | 43% | 42% | 54% | 61% |
 | Idaho | 37% | 45% | 40% | 43% | 58% |
 | Kentucky | 37% | 43% | 39% | 53% | 66% |
 | Indiana | 36% | 43% | 37% | 45% | 56% |
 | Texas | 36% | 45% | 38% | 50% | 62% |
 | Virginia | 35% | 43% | 37% | 47% | 57% |
 | New Mexico | 34% | 41% | 34% | 49% | 57% |
 | Missouri | 33% | 38% | 36% | 44% | 55% |
 | Montana | 33% | 37% | 33% | 44% | 51% |
 | Illinois | 31% | 35% | 33% | 42% | 50% |
 | Wyoming | 31% | 35% | 33% | 42% | 53% |
 | Florida | 30% | 39% | 31% | 46% | 59% |
 | Michigan | 30% | 35% | 32% | 44% | 54% |
 | Nebraska | 30% | 37% | 38% | 39% | 56% |
 | Delaware | 29% | 40% | 33% | 43% | 56% |
 | New Jersey | 29% | 34% | 31% | 42% | 51% |
 | West Virginia | 29% | 40% | 30% | 47% | 56% |
 | Ohio | 28% | 37% | 32% | 42% | 52% |
 | Arizona | 27% | 36% | 32% | 45% | 51% |
 | Maryland | 27% | 39% | 29% | 46% | 54% |
 | Minnesota | 27% | 33% | 32% | 33% | 49% |
 | Wisconsin | 27% | 29% | 29% | 38% | 50% |
 | Alaska | 26% | 34% | 25% | 38% | 50% |
 | Pennsylvania | 26% | 33% | 28% | 40% | 50% |
 | New York | 25% | 33% | 26% | 37% | 47% |
 | Washington | 25% | 30% | 27% | 35% | 44% |
 | California | 24% | 31% | 27% | 39% | 46% |
 | Colorado | 24% | 30% | 27% | 38% | 46% |
 | Connecticut | 23% | 33% | 22% | 39% | 44% |
 | Rhode Island | 22% | 30% | 27% | 31% | 44% |
 | Hawaii | 21% | 29% | 19% | 34% | 48% |
 | Iowa | 21% | 28% | 30% | 31% | 47% |
 | Massachusetts | 20% | 26% | 20% | 31% | 40% |
 | Nevada | 19% | 30% | 20% | 41% | 48% |
 | Oregon | 19% | 26% | 20% | 29% | 41% |
 | District of Columbia | 18% | 29% | 26% | 30% | 39% |
 | Maine | 17% | 23% | 19% | 32% | 38% |
 | New Hampshire | 15% | 16% | 18% | 25% | 33% |
 | Vermont | 13% | 16% | 17% | 22% | 30% |
Religious engagement remains strong in many parts of the United States, with some states reporting notably higher levels of belief and religious practice than others. The data on this page, released in 2025 and representing the most recent information available as of early 2026, compares U.S. states across multiple measures of religiosity, including belief, practice, and self-reported importance of religion.
How Pew Measures Religious Engagement Pew evaluates religiosity using several belief and behavior indicators, including how important religion is in daily life, frequency of prayer, attendance at religious services, and belief in God.
What 'Highly Religious Adults' Indicates The share of highly religious adults reflects combined responses across Pew’s survey measures rather than affiliation with any specific religious tradition.
Characteristics of the Most Religious States
States ranked as most religious report consistently high levels across multiple measures of religious engagement, including the importance of religion in daily life, frequent prayer, regular attendance at religious services, and belief in God. Mississippi leads the rankings with 50% of adults classified as highly religious, followed by South Carolina (46%) and Louisiana (45%). These states demonstrate strong alignment among belief, personal practice, and self-reported religious importance.
Geographic Patterns in Religious Engagement
The most religious states are largely concentrated in the South and parts of the Midwest, where higher levels of belief and religious practice appear consistently across Pew’s measures. Respondents in the states in this region tend to pray daily more, to attend services more regularly, and to believe in God compared with other parts of the country.
