NW no longer least religious part of country

More Americans Say They Have No Religion - NYTimes.com:

"Northern New England surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious region, with Vermont reporting the highest share of those claiming no religion, at 34 percent. Still, the study found that the numbers of Americans with no religion rose in every state."

As a Lutheran, these numbers kind of sting:

"In 2008, Christians comprised 76 percent of U.S. adults, compared to about 77 percent in 2001 and about 86 percent in 1990. Researchers said the dwindling ranks of mainline Protestants, including Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians, largely explains the shift. Over the last seven years, mainline Protestants dropped from just over 17 percent to 12.9 percent of the population."

We have been hearing for years that our beloved Northwest was the least churched part of the country. At least we no longer lead in that category.