Why is the South so conservative?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Charts detailing racial trends in the US indicate a very high African-American population trend across the Southern states.  In most elections, those have been the states that elect Republicans by very healthy margins.  However, in states up north, especially the New England area, there is a very low population of non-whites.  Exit polls show that more than 90% of African-Americans vote Democratic, so how can the South be so conservative and the Northeast be so liberal?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Charts detailing racial trends in the US indicate a very high African-American population trend across the Southern states.  In most elections, those have been the states that elect Republicans by very healthy margins.  However, in states up north, especially the New England area, there is a very low population of non-whites.  Exit polls show that more than 90% of African-Americans vote Democratic, so how can the South be so conservative and the Northeast be so liberal?

Whites in the northeast tend to be better educated and less religious than whites in the south.

Theoretically, the South should still be somewhat more liberal than it is today because of the high African-American population.  In 2008, McCain shouldn't have carried states like Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, etc. with such large margins.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Religious fundamentalism.

Unlike like most areas in the Northeast and Midwest, Evangelical church membership is higher than "Mainline" church attendance in the Southeast.  

I wouldn't say that's the main cause although it is one of many. I mean states like Idaho,  Alaska, and Montana are pretty conservative overall, but they have some of the lowest church attendance/importance of religion in daily life rates in the country.

Likewise states in the Northeast like MA and RI have large numbers of Catholic voters, but are still solidly Democratic.  

The kind of conservatism found in the Intermountain West is awfully different that that found in the Southeast.  The “conservatism” found in the West is much more libertarian and tends to have much less emphasis on social issues.  In Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming the general attitude towards the federal government is “STAY AWAY”!

The South, on the other hand, is arguably one of the least libertarian regions in the entire nation.  People living in the South tend to be more receptive of the idea of the welfare state and put most of their conservative emphasis on social issues.  In the South people like a government, but only a government that stands up for the “Christian values” on which this nation was “founded”.

As for Catholics in the Industrial Midwest and Northeast, the experience of Catholic immigrants in the United States has been completely different form that of their WASP counterparts.  This explains the differences in voting behavior.  Also, many Americans are CINO’s (Catholic in Name Only) and, to some degree, Catholicism is nothing more than a token religion.  

You're right.  Even dark red Wyoming doesn't restrict abortion and gay marriage rights as much as religious southern states.  They've also had some pro-choice people for senators.  And Alaska has a libertarian streak to it, too, especially on gun rights.  On the other hand, Idaho is probably one of the most socially conservative states in the Mountain region because a fair amount of residents there are Mormons.

The South doesn't seem to like welfare or government assistance very much, unless it's for farm subsidies.  They tend to borrow huge amounts of money for that.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I don't think anyone mentioned this yet.  Here's another reason why the Northeast should arguably be more conservative than the South: the North is where the Puritans settled.  The Puritans were a very religious people who wanted to turn the US into a theocratic government and were somewhat successful in doing so, hence why we have so many blue laws as remnants of their attempts.  So, I'm still confused on how states with such strict laws on alcohol became the most liberal.

Yes, I realize this is the exact opposite of my original question.  Still relevant, though.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

DailyKos posted this a couple days ago.



Self-reliant?  Interesting.  And even the mountain states don't mind some government cheddar.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

And even the mountain states don't mind some government cheddar.

So much for the mountain states being the most "libertarian."

Yeah.  This pretty much disproves that entirely.  All they're libertarian on is... guns.  You learn something new every day, I guess.