February 3, 2003
| Geographic Mobility by Denomination |
| ___ |
1966 |
2002 |
|
Protestants
|
| East |
19 percent |
18 percent |
| Midwest |
30 percent |
25 percent |
| South |
34 percent |
39 percent |
| West |
17 percent |
17 percent |
|
Catholics
|
| East |
48 percent |
33 percent |
| Midwest |
30 percent |
25 percent |
| South |
9 percent |
20 percent |
| West |
13 percent |
22 percent |
|
Jews
|
| East |
84 percent |
50 percent |
| Midwest |
6 percent |
8 percent |
| South |
3 percent |
22 percent |
| West |
7 percent |
19 percent |
| Source: The Gallup Organization |
Catholic and Jewish population
shifts within U.S. borders
___PRINCETON, N.J. (RNS)--In the last four decades, the percentages of self-described Catholics and Jews in the various regions of the United States has changed significantly while the percentages of Protestants has remained stable, the Gallup Organization reports.
___The percentage of Catholics living in the South more than doubled from 1966 to 2002, from 9 percent to 20 percent. The percentage of Jews living in that region rose from 3 percent to 22 percent in the same time period.
___Many Jews and Catholics seem to have migrated from the East to the South and West. In 1966, 84 percent of U.S. Jews lived in the East, but that figure dropped to 50 percent in 2002.
___While the percentage of Protestants living in the West was the same in 1966 as in 2002--17 percent--the percentage of Jews and Catholics climbed sharply. Jews increased from 7 percent to 19 percent, while Catholics rose from 13 percent to 22 percent.
___Researchers also found in their comparison of survey data that the self-reported populations of Catholics and Jews nationwide have remained relatively the same since 1966. In 2002, 24 percent of people surveyed said they were Catholic while 2 percent said they were Jewish.
___But the portion of Americans who identified themselves as Protestants dropped from 67 percent to 49 percent in that time period. The number of people saying "none" when asked about their religious preference rose from 2 percent in 1966 to 10 percent in 2002. More of those surveyed in 2002 also were more specific about what kind of Protestant they were or cited other faith affiliations.
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