Here’s an interesting set of cultural maps of the United States. Prof. Jon T. Kilpinen at Valparaiso State University draws on information compiled by the Glenmary Research Center and the 2000 census to compile several maps illustrating the dispersion of various religious bodies in the United States. Most are Christian Denominations. Also, check out the other maps Prof. Kilpinen has assembled.

As a current member of the United Church of Christ, the Disciples of Christ and the American Baptist Church (a virtual smörgåsbord of religion!), I was especially interested to see how confined these groups tend to be geographically. Also interesting is the large number of American Catholics. This trend only stands to increase as persons from Latin American countries continue to migrate to America. Find your own group on the map, then leave me a comment and tell me where your people are!

Also, of interest are the several other maps available for viewing and purchase from the Glenmary Research Center. Glenmary is a Catholic organization based in the Southern US. Their primary aim is to identify rural communities where the population is largely non-Catholic and/or non-religious and to establish a church presence. Looking at this map, can you guess why they’re located in the South?

thanks PeaceBang