How Religious Is Your State?

A friend pointed me to this Pew study on the religious belief and practices across states in the US. He was appalled that only 51% of Iowans (our home state) had much religious conviction.

These observations are interesting, and have some utility I suppose. But let us remind one another of the metric Jesus gave us: "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)

The metrics the Pew study used were personal self-assessments on beliefs and practices. Jesus standard was what others observed of our love. That's a much higher standard -- and one impossible without the genuine work of the Holy Spirit.