![States of the Union](https://religionandpolitics.org/wp-content/themes/rap_v2/images/home/stateUnionBIg.jpg)
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.
![](https://religionandpolitics.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/rsz_arch_gettyimages-517475558-257x208.jpg)
Missouri
An Ozarks Native Crosses the Show Me State.
By Rachel McBride Lindsey![](https://religionandpolitics.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/UMC-584-x-380-257x208.jpg)
Ohio
An Atheist Finds (Some) Reasons to Believe in Her Old Church.
By Sarah Stankorb![](https://religionandpolitics.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Cajun-AP_974063704491-584-x-380-257x208.jpg)
Louisiana
A French Teacher Lives Among the Cajuns.
By Max Perry Mueller![](https://religionandpolitics.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/5841-257x208.jpg)
Nebraska
A Cornhusker Prays with FCA.
By Paul Putz![](https://religionandpolitics.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Belvidere-AP071026043837-584-x-380-257x208.jpg)
Illinois
An Autoworker Reconciles God and Mammon.
By Christopher D. Cantwell![](https://religionandpolitics.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Katahdin-584-x-380-257x208.jpg)
Maine
A Spiritual Frontier Opens for Business.
By Brook Wilensky-Lanford![](https://religionandpolitics.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Kentucky-584-x-380-257x208.jpg)
Kentucky
A Priest Takes on the Coal Industry.
By Dwight Billings, Kate Black and Kathi Kern![](https://religionandpolitics.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/NHplate-584-x-380-257x208.jpg)
New Hampshire
A Protester Fights to Live Free or Die.
By Madeline DeSantis![](https://religionandpolitics.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Haley.SanfordAP-584-x-380-257x208.jpg)
South Carolina
A Reporter Trails Nikki Haley and Mark Sanford.
By Tiffany Stanley![](https://religionandpolitics.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/GettyImages_149950728-584-x-380-257x208.jpg)
Iowa
A Pastor’s Son Notes When Politics Came to the Pulpit.
By Randall Balmer