The United States was founded, in part, on religious freedom. Many of those who immigrated to the United States came looking for a place where he or she was free to practice the religion of his or her choice. The result is a nation with a colorful mix of religions. It is important to note that the map below only reflects Christian religious groups in the United States.

Look at the map below and answer the questions that follow.

Image of a map of the United States depicting selected religious groups by county.
  1. Based on the map above, which Christian religious group is the most widespread across the United States (don’t forget Alaska and Hawaii)?

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    Based on the map, Catholicism is the most widespread religion across the United States. Close Pop Up

  2. The Baptist religious group is concentrated primarily in the south. What is the name of this region?

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    The concentrated region in the south (seen in red on the map) is called the Bible Belt. Close Pop Up

  3. Which Christian religious group is concentrated primarily in the west?

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    The religious group that is concentrated primarily in the west is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also called Mormons. Close Pop Up

The map below gives you a glimpse of the global landscape of religion. Every region of the world has more than one major religion. Click on the map to enlarge it.

Image of a world map that illustrates the geographical distribution of major world religions.

Interactive exercise. Assistance may be required. Now, let’s look at the origin of each of the seven major religions. Click on the religious symbols on the map below and read the information about each one.


Activity

Interactive exercise. Assistance may be required. Read the descriptions of major world religions below. Determine which religion is described and click on the correct symbol.


Sources for image used in this section, as they appear top to bottom: