We gathered writers from around the country to tell us about where they discovered religion and politics in their states. Both part of a union and cultures unto their own, these states reveal stories of people, places and histories of the American experience.
Missouri
An Ozarks Native Crosses the Show Me State.
By Rachel McBride Lindsey
Ohio
An Atheist Finds (Some) Reasons to Believe in Her Old Church.
By Sarah Stankorb
Louisiana
A French Teacher Lives Among the Cajuns.
By Max Perry Mueller
Nebraska
A Cornhusker Prays with FCA.
By Paul Putz
Illinois
An Autoworker Reconciles God and Mammon.
By Christopher D. Cantwell
Maine
A Spiritual Frontier Opens for Business.
By Brook Wilensky-Lanford
Kentucky
A Priest Takes on the Coal Industry.
By Dwight Billings, Kate Black and Kathi Kern
New Hampshire
A Protester Fights to Live Free or Die.
By Madeline DeSantis
South Carolina
A Reporter Trails Nikki Haley and Mark Sanford.
By Tiffany Stanley
Iowa
A Pastor’s Son Notes When Politics Came to the Pulpit.
By Randall Balmer