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Do you live on/near one or the other coast? I think you're spot on about the literacy, but my impression is that religion is actually pretty prominent in the middle of the country. I wonder whether the prominent atheism among people I encounter is because I encounter people in places that attract atheists (like Boston -- haha...). Seriously, though, I suspect there are lots more serious church-goers (proportionally of course, since a different population size means a different absolute number is less interesting) in, say, the bible belt than here in MA or in CA either.