Four out of five Tennesseans, about 79.5%, celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, according to a news release by SafeHome.org.
That’s way more than the national average.
“Overall, 90% of Americans plan to celebrate in some fashion, but only 50% plan to attend church, and millions of others don’t identify as Christian at all,” according to the news release.
The numbers are taken from a study called “How Americans Celebrate Christmas” that includes data on 35,000 Americans in all 50 states. The data was gathered by the Pew Research Center. Tennessee ranked as having the 47th least-religious population when it comes to Christmas.
According to the report, the Top 10 religious Christmas states are: Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, South Dakota, Arkansas, Missouri, Georgia and South Carolina.
On the other hand, the Top 10 non-religious Christmas states are: Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Montana, California and Hawaii.
Other key Tennessee rankings in the report:
* “No. 48 in the nation with 15% of residents who don’t claim a specific religion.”
* “No. 32 with 0.30% of residents are Pagan, Wiccan or of a Native American faith.”
* “No. 19 with 3.10% of the population Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu.”