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West Virginia has many different religions, but most people are Christian, especially Protestant. Even though fewer people belong to specific churches now, more West Virginians say they are religious compared to people in other states. A 2020 study showed that about 79% are Christian, including 8% Catholic (lower than the national average). About 27% go to church weekly, and only 16% say they have no religion.
When West Virginia became a state in 1863, Methodism was the most popular religion. It had spread quickly due to good organization, passionate leaders such as Bishop Francis Asbury, and a message that salvation was for everyone. Methodist pastors,...
The Church of the United Brethren in Christ began in the late 1700s among German immigrants and officially formed in 1800. It spread to West Virginia through settlers and traveling preachers like Christian Newcomer and Michael Moses. The first per...
Presbyterian Scotch-Irish settlers were among the first Europeans to settle in present-day West Virginia, arriving in the early 1700s. They started churches across the region, especially in the Eastern Panhandle and Greenbrier Valley. Early leader...
The Episcopal Church has been in what is now West Virginia since around 1740, with the first church built in Bunker Hill (Berkeley County). Over time, more churches were started in every major city. In 1877, the church in West Virginia became its ...
Lutheranism began with Martin Luther in Germany during the Reformation and spread to America with European immigrants. In the 1730s, Lutherans arrived in what is now West Virginia, starting churches in Shepherdstown and later in Mason County.As mo...
West Virginia Baptists believe in the Bible as their main guide, baptism by immersion, freedom for each church to run itself, and religious liberty. The first Baptist church in the state started in the 1740s in the Eastern Panhandle. Leaders such ...
In the 1820s, some Baptist churches split over whether to support missionary work. A group called Primitive Baptists believed in predestination—that God had already chosen who would be saved, so trying to convert others was against God’s plan. The...
Catholics first came to Western Virginia after the American Revolution when anti-Catholic laws were ended. Small Catholic communities started in places like Wheeling and in the Eastern Panhandle.A big change happened in the 1840s with the arrival ...
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is one of the largest Protestant groups that started in the U.S. It began in 1832 when two religious movements joined together—one led by Barton Stone in Kentucky and the other by Thomas and Alexander Cam...
Seventh Day Baptists are a group of Protestant Christians who are similar to other Baptists but worship on Saturday instead of Sunday. They believe the Bible teaches that Saturday is the true Sabbath, as shown by Jesus’ example.The group began in ...
The Seventh-day Adventist Church began in 1863, based on the teachings of William Miller, who believed Jesus would return soon. Adventist beliefs first came to West Virginia in 1879, when people in Rockport (Wood County) started keeping Saturday a...
Orthodox Christianity includes several national churches that are united with one another but not with the Roman Catholic Church. A main difference is that Orthodox Christians do not follow the Pope. In West Virginia, the main Orthodox groups are ...
Jews first arrived in West Virginia before it became a state. Many came from Germany in the 1800s, followed by others from Eastern Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They settled in cities and small towns, working mostly as store owners and...
Pentecostalism is a Christian movement that started in the early 1900s. It teaches that people can be filled with the Holy Spirit and show signs like speaking in tongues, healing people, and casting out demons. It began with preacher Charles Parha...
The Church of the Nazarene began in 1908 to unite churches from the American holiness movement, which came out of Methodism. It spread to West Virginia in 1910, starting in Newell after a revival led by preacher Howard Sloan. Other early churches ...
Jehovah’s Witnesses began in the late 1870s in Pittsburgh and soon came to West Virginia. Around 1882, a church leader named James McClung in Mt. Lookout (Nicholas County) read their booklet and changed his beliefs. Eight families followed him, le...
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also called the Mormon Church) was started by Joseph Smith in 1830 in New York. Mormons believe they are restoring the original Christian church and spread their message around the world.Mormon miss...
Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion that encourages individual beliefs and has roots in Christianity. It combines two ideas: Unitarianism, which believes God is one (not a Trinity), and Universalism, which believes everyone will be saved....
Muslims are people who follow the religion of Islam, which, like Judaism and Christianity, believes in one God. In West Virginia, only a few Muslim families lived in the state before the 1960s, mostly from the Middle East. They worked as merchants...