CHRISTIANITY is by far the largest religion in the United States, and that’s true for each individual state as well.
But a degree of variety emerges at the state level when it comes to the second-largest faith, as a new map from the Washington Post illustrates.
The Post map found broad regional patterns in those faiths, with Judaism dominating the Northeast (as well as a few outlying states), while Islam was the second-most-adhered-to faith in the South and much of the Midwest.
In the West, Buddhism is the faith most followed after Christianity, with the exception of Arizona (the sole state where Hinduism ranks second).
Alaska (like Hawaii) stuck with Western states, with Buddhism as their top non-Christian faith. The Post map also broke down the data at the county level, and while Anchorage and Fairbanks North Star Borough followed the statewide trend, Baha’i –not Buddhism — was the second-most-followed religion in the Matanuska-Susitna and Kenai Peninsula Boroughs.
In Southeast Alaska, the trend was reversed, with only Haines registering Buddhism as the number two faith and all other boroughs reported as Baha’i. Alaska News Digest
