Mastodon

RNS | Covering the world of religion.

RNS logo
Southerners love the government!
Mark Silk
January 29, 2010

Well, government jobs anyway. According to a new Gallup poll, the South leads all other regions of the country in the proportion of people who would prefer working for the government than for a business. Nationwide, the number is 35 percent; in the South, it’s 42 percent. (The East comes in second, at 37 percent.)

This is odd, given that the South is the most Republican region of the country, and that just 26 percent of Republicans, as opposed to 44 percent of Democrats, would prefer a government job. Or maybe not, given that Southerners have a long tradition of denouncing the gummint even as they feast on federal handouts. I used to live there.

Unfortunately, Gallup doesn’t include religion in the survey.


No paywalls here. Thanks to you.
As an independent nonprofit, RNS believes everyone should have access to coverage of religion that is fair, thoughtful and inclusive. That's why you will never hit a paywall on our site; you can read all the stories and columns you want, free of charge (and we hope you read a lot of them!)

But, of course, producing this journalism carries a high cost, to support the reporters, editors, columnists, and the behind-the-scenes staff that keep this site up and running. That's why we ask that if you can, you consider becoming one of our donors. Any amount helps, and because we're a nonprofit, all of it goes to support our mission: To produce thoughtful, factual coverage of religion that helps you better understand the world. Thank you for reading and supporting RNS.
Deborah Caldwell, CEO and Publisher
Donate today