Religion and Regional Culture: Patterns of Concentration and Change among American Religious Denominations, 1952-1980

Religious denominations are viewed as indicators of regional cultural distinctiveness in the United States. Census-type adherence data for 1952, 1971, and 1980 are used to examine changes in spatial concentration within religious groups, and in relation to general population trends. Contrary to expectations, for both the 1952-1971 and 1971-1980 periods these broadly representative denominational data exhibit remarkable stability rather than change. The implications of these patterns for future research on religious trends and their impact on regional culture are discussed.