Kansas may not be an official notch in the Bible Belt, but a new poll shows the state’s residents are above the national average when it comes to church attendance.

The survey, released recently by Gallup Polls, said 47 percent of Kansans reported they attend church or synagogue “once a week” or “almost every week.” That ranks the state 14th in the nation for church attendance and five points higher than the national average.

The Rev. Shaun LePage, pastor at Community Bible Church, 906 N. 1464 Road, said he hasn’t figured out a magic formula for figuring out why some states have higher church attendance than others.

“I know Christians all over the country and in all parts of the country, and I don’t know that I could explain some of those things,” said LePage, who came to Kansas from Dallas last year.

Those conducting the survey asked the question, “How often do you attend church or synagogue?” The survey apparently didn’t address religions other than Christianity and Judaism.

The states with the highest percentage of church or synagogue attendance were in the South – Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina each had 58 percent of respondents saying they attend weekly or nearly weekly, while that figure in Mississippi was 57 percent.

In general, the South and Midwest tended to have the highest church attendance. Nebraska was the highest-ranking Midwest state, with 53 percent of respondents attending weekly or almost every week.

States in the West and on the East Coast tended to have lower figures. New Hampshire and Vermont ranked last on the list, with 24 percent attending weekly or nearly every week.

“There are so many things you can compare with that,” LePage said. “For instance, there are education levels and economic levels. People who are wealthier tend to negate their (spiritual) needs and don’t appreciate their need for God.

“And as far as church attendance, most people walk away from Christianity or drop out of church in their college years. I’d venture to guess in those areas where there are more colleges or universities, church attendance is lower.”

LePage said he’d be curious to know what the attendance figures are specifically in Lawrence. The survey didn’t break down results lower than the state level.

“There’s the fact that Kansas is really, as I understand it, in general a conservative state – away from colleges and universities,” he said.