Experiment of the States – Part 1: Education, Religion, and Political Ideology

This is a continuation of the "Experiment of the States" series.  The significance and purpose of this type of data analysis is explained here.

Some of the most significant trends found between the states show direct relationships between political ideologies, amount of higher level education, and religious values. If you look at the graphs shown on this page, each data point represents a single state.  More conservative states have a population that are more religious with less people having higher education.  States having a higher percentage of their population with higher education will also be less religious.

Note: All of the data shown on this page is from 2008 and 2009.  By using data from the same time period, I am limiting the effect of time.

When looking at data, it is important to realize that statistically significant trends can only be used as evidence of a correlation.  There is a difference between correlation and causation.  By no means can such evidence be used to prove a cause and effect relationship (yet), but using our God-given gift of reason may help further explain these trends. With that in mind, these data trends suggest that some (if not all) of the following relationships may exist: 

Political ideology could be affected by education and/or religion; 

Religion could be affected by political ideology and/or education;

Education could be affected by religion and/or political ideology;

If some of these cause and effect relationships truly do exist, there may be a lot of questions that arise. For example, if one’s religious beliefs are affected by their amount of higher education, what are the underlying causes? What about their education causes a change in their religious views? Could it be the type of teachers they had or schools they attended? Maybe it depends on their previous religious views and experiences? Or could it be that science and religion tend to always contradict each other? If that’s the case, which is more important, and what are the repercussions for picking between the two?  Are there situations where science and religion can work together? 

Similar questions will arise when considering the other data trends as well. 

It may be frustrating that this type of information gives us more questions than answers, but these questions are necessary.  Asking these questions is very important for continuously improving upon our understanding of the chaotic world we live in.

These are just a few examples of statistically significant trends that can be used to tell a story or give insight into different social and economic trends across the nation.

Sources:

United States’ Census Bureau record of Persons 25 Years Old and Over with Bachelor's Degree or More, 2008. "The 2012 Statistical Abstract: State Rankings". http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/rankings.html(accessed on October 28, 2012). 

Gallup record of Total Conservative and Total Liberal Populations. Published on August 14, 2009. "'Conservative' Label Prevails in the South" by Lydia Saad. http://www.gallup.com/poll/122333/Political-Ideology-Conservative-Label-Prevails-South.aspx#1(accessed on October 31, 2012). 

Gallup record of Importance of Religion. Posted on January 28, 2009. "State of the States: Importance of Religion" by Frank Newport. http://www.gallup.com/poll/114022/state-states-importance-religion.aspx#1(accessed on October 31, 2012).