The data on which U.S. states are most religious isn't very surprising, but worth a view anyway, as summarized by this 2022 summary of a Pew Study on the topic.
There is not a comprehensive way to determine what states are the most religious. However, Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study gives us the best picture of what states are the most religious.This study looks at four measures to determine what states are the most religious. . . .
Religious attendanceFrequency of prayerBelief in GodSelf-assessment of the importance of religion . . .Seventy-seven percent of Alabama residents stated that religion was very important within their own lives, compared to just 74% of people who said the same in Mississippi. Mississippi topped Alabama when it came to prayers, with 75% of Mississippi people stating they pray daily compared to just 73% of people in Alabama.When it comes to attending worship services, neither Alabama nor Mississippi came out on top. That honor went to the state of Utah, where 53% of residents attend worship services at least weekly. Alabama came in second place with 51% of residents regularly attending services, while Mississippi came in 4th with 49%.For belief in God, both states were tied. 82% of people in each state believe in God with absolute certainty.
From here (along with the table below, which I have color coded by state level 2020 Presidential election results with red supporting Trump and blue supporting Biden).
In the United States as a whole, 55% of adults are religious as determined by Pew's standards, a figure quite close to the best dividing line between state election outcomes.
Map from here.Political Analysis
Overall Trends
It is not surprising to anyone familiar with U.S. politics that political identity is links to how religious you are: more religious people, on average, are more likely to support Republicans, while less religious people, on average, are more likely to support Democrats, although correlation isn't perfect. Also, it is worth noting that many of the states in the middle of the ranking of percentage of religious adults, were also swing states: Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, for example, each of which were 53% religious, were each states with quite close outcomes.
There is a certain irony in this, as former President Donald Trump is not at all a religious man, even though many very religious white American Christians have embraced him as a prophetic savior, while President Biden is a very devout Catholic and has been for his entire political career.
Only four of the twenty-four states with 53% or fewer of adults who were religious (North Dakota, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska) voted for Trump.
North Dakota, Idaho, and Montana are all very rural and have few black or Hispanic voters. Montana is 86% non-Hispanic white. North Dakota is 84% non-Hispanic white. Idaho is 82% non-Hispanic white. None of them have any really major cities.
Agriculture and mining are very important components of the economies in all of these outlier states.
The Case of Alaska
Alaska, however, in addition to being the least religious state that supported Trump, is only 60% non-Hispanic white, the same percentage of the United States as a whole (with Native Alaskans making up the largest share of non-white residents), and unlike many other red states, its white population is much more urban than its non-white population with a very large share of white Alaskans living in a handful of major cities. Alaska's people are also younger than the average state, which should favor Democrats.
On the other hand, Alaska perceives itself as very rural with much of its territory roadless and virtually uninhabited, and none of its cities being particularly large, and even many Alaskans in very urban areas are heavily reliant on the oil and gas industry.
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