A widely-shared map says there are now more Muslims than Jews in Florida, which is probably not true.
Historically, Florida has not been a heavily-Muslim state. Back in 2012, only 0.1% of Florida’s population was Muslim, far lower than the national average, which was 0.6%. Far more Muslims live in states like Illinois, Virginia, and New York, than in Florida. By contrast, Brandeis University says there are about 700,000 Jewish adults in Florida — over 4 percent of Florida’s adult population.
The map, which is below, shows the largest non-Christian religion in each state. Judaism is correctly shown as the largest non-Christian religion in the Northeast and parts of the Midwest and Upper South. Buddhism is shown as the largest non-Christian religion in states on the West Coast. Islam is shown on the map as the largest non-Christian religion in most of the south and Midwest. And Hinduism is shown as the largest non-Christian religion in Arizona and Delaware.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
The map looks mostly correct. Judaism is indeed the second most common religion in the northeast. And in much of the south, there are indeed more Muslims than Jews. But it seems wrong about Florida, and perhaps a few other states, too. The map is attributed to the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Many journalists and others have shared it on Twitter.
