Fewer people are attending religious services across the country. But new data from the University of Virginia shows a surprising amount of diversity in rural parts of the Commonwealth.
When researchers at the University of Virginia started looking at the demographics of religion, they expected to see a wide diversity of religions in major metropolitan areas.
Shonel Sen at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service says what she discovered was the adherence rate in rural Virginia for non-Christian religions is on par with major metro areas.
"What was surprising in this research was that rural Virginia also has a lot of religious practitioners who are not just following the predominant Christian congregations," Sen explains. "There are other diverse minority religions being practiced across Virginia."
Rachel Draughon in the Department of Religious Studies says just as many people participate in non-Christian religions per capita in rural areas as in major cities.
"One thing I find really interesting is how much Islam is a factor in religious diversity, especially in these more rural areas," Draughon says.
So there's just as much diversity in rural Virginia as in urban Virginia. But there also may be fewer people attending services. A recent Gallup poll showed attendance at religious services is the lowest it's been in eight decades, essentially as long as Gallup has been asking the question.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
