Is there a “war on Christmas?” That might depend where you live. A new study examining how Americans celebrate in every state found Arizona ranks No. 16 with 33.4 percent of residents not Christian or observing a non-religious Christmas. The national average is 29 percent.
Overall, 90 percent of Americans plan to celebrate in some fashion, but only 50 percent plan to attend church, and millions of others don’t identify as Christian at all.
SafeHome.org today released a study on How Americans Celebrate Christmas using Pew Research Center data on 35,000 Americans in all 50 states.
Here are key findings in Arizona:
• No. 16 in the nation with 26% of residents who don’t claim a specific religion
• No. 10 with 1.20% of residents are Pagan, Wiccan or of a Native American faith
• No. 10 with 5.00% of the population is Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu
Here are key national findings:
• The top 10 non-religious Christmas states are: Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Montana, California and Hawaii.
• The top 10 religious Christmas states are: Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, South Dakota, Arkansas, Missouri, Georgia and South Carolina.
• New York has the highest Jewish population (7%), New Jersey has the highest Muslim population (3%) and the highest Hindu population (3%), and Hawaii has the highest Buddhist population (8%).
