Godless New Yorkers

In some good news for my region of the country, it seems that we are not afflicted by the Bible-thumping, God-bothering types that infest other areas.

The Capital Region, including Saratoga County, is one of the top 10 least religious areas in the country, according to a recent Gallup poll.

We're number 1!

The region ranked ninth on the list released last week by the international public opinion poll company — tied with Bremerton-Silverdale, Wash.; Madison, Wis.; and nearby Springfield, Mass. San Francisco, Boston and Burlington, Vt., also were listed among some of the other least religious metropolitan areas.

Well, number 9 anyway. So we have room for improvement. I am hoping that my worship of Pagan gods and goddesses isn't skewing things upward. I do so look forward to the weekly meeting of my coven.

“Northerners tend to be spiritual as opposed to religious,” said Ilene Frank, co-president at the Berith Sholom progressive reform synagogue in Troy, which has more than 150 members from the surrounding five counties. “There’s definitely been an overall decline in the number of people who use rituals in search of the divine.”

Frank, who previously lived in Texas, said this is not the case in other parts of the country.

“You wear your religion in parts of Texas,” she said.
Hmmm, that doesn't really help answer the question as to whether my Pagan worship is considered religious as far as this poll goes. I would say definitely not in Texas, though. Good to know I'll stay here in Baal's country.

In even better news: Wells Fargo has finally, as of April 1, returned my $370 after two weeks of my hounding them for it. As my mother used to tell me, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." It wouldn't have taken her two weeks, I'm quite sure she would have grabbed someone by the throat long before that.

Say hi to Lawrence if you see him Maaa.