How often do you pray? Or do you think it's a waste of time? CREDIT: Alexey Fursov | Shutterstock  View full size image

If you like to attend church and have a strong connection with religion, Mississippi may be your best bet, according to a new survey finding the Magnolia State is the most religious, followed by Utah and Alabama.

At the other end of the pew, Vermont and New Hampshire came in as the least religious U.S. states.

Individuals who indicated that religion is an important part of their daily life and that they attend religious services every week or almost every week were classified as "very religious" by Gallup officials. That definition would mean 40 percent of Americans nationwide are very religious, the survey found. Another 32 percent of Americans are nonreligious, meaning they reported religion is not an important part of their daily life and that they seldom or never attend religious services.

The results are based on telephone interviews conducted between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011, with a random sample of 353,492 adults, ages 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. [See full list of U.S. states and religiosity]

At the state level, there were some extremes. Fifty-nine percent of Mississippians are very religious and 11 percent nonreligious, while 23 percent of Vermonters are very religious and 58 percent are nonreligious. New Hampshire tied Vermont with 23 percent of its residents grouped as very religious, though slightly fewer (52 percent) residents in the Granite State would be considered nonreligious.

The Southern states bustled with religiosity; eight of the 10 most religious states in 2011 are located there and include: Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. Rounding out the top 10 are Oklahoma at No. 10 and Utah at No. 2.

Read the rest here.