Corvallis’ State of Irreligion

Grafico freccia rossa andamento negativoNo surprise, Oregon is fifth on the list of least religious states, with most of the Northwest pretty close in the ranking. The state of New Hampshire edges out Vermont this year as least religious, with only 20% of the state’s population claiming to be “very religious.” Oregon trumps it by 9%.

Portland is always in the spotlight for its food carts and unicycle-riding bagpipe players, and has been recognized as one of the least religious cities in the Northwest, often compared with Seattle. However, surprisingly, Corvallis is less religious than Portland.

In Portland, 36% of the population claim to be religious, meaning they have some sort of religious affiliation but are not necessarily churchgoers, while Albany’s population is at 28% and Corvallis’ at 26%. Corvallis’ population is 54,953, and though 26% seems like a fairly low number, that means 14,271 people, or every one in four, has some sort of religious relationship.

According to Sperling’s, Corvallis’ most practiced religion is Catholicism, followed by other Christian religions—“other” excluding believers in Episcopalian, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian religions—and Latter Day Saints.

With Oregon’s population of 3.97 million, 1.15 million people have a religious affiliation and only a small portion of them live in Corvallis. If you’re wondering what state is the most religious, that would be Mississippi, at 63%.

By Kara Beu

Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com