California among the nation’s most ‘sinful’ states, report says. Is this why we have earthquakes?
California is one of the most “sinful” states in the nation, according to a recent online study sure to add ammunition to any Golden State hater’s arsenal.
Financial services site WalletHub examined all 50 states “across seven key dimensions” that mirror the Seven Deadly Sins made famous in the 14th Century by Italian author Dante Alighieri, and revisited in the 1990s cult film Se7en.
The categories include anger and hatred (wrath), jealousy (envy), excesses and vices (gluttony), greed, lust, vanity (pride) and laziness (sloth).
“We examined those dimensions using 43 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights,” WalletHub wrote.
That included such things as violent crimes per capita, share of population using marijuana, teen birth rates and other factors.
With that metric, WalletHub found California ranked third in the nation for overall “sinfulness.” California was within the top 10 for lust (No. 2) and vanity (No. 3).
You might call that “perversity,” as evangelical minister Pat Robertson did in 1995 when he suggested God’s displeasure with the state led Him to inflict a 6.7 magnitude earthquake on the San Fernando Valley, according to The Advocate newspaper.
California was fifth in the nation for most beauty salons per capita, the study found.
On the bright side, California placed nearly last (No. 47) for “excesses and vices.”
Unsurprisingly, Nevada — home of “Sin City” — took first place in WalletHub’s study, and Florida took No. 2. On the virtuous end of the scale, Vermont was listed as the least sinful state. But Green Mountain State residents better not get too cocky; Vermont was ranked No. 9 for “Greed.”
Most Californians likely won’t be bothered much by the “sinful” label. A 2018 Gallup survey found just 29 percent of Californians to be “very religious,” with another 29 percent “moderately religious” and 42 percent identifying as “not religious.”
You can see the full WalletHub report here.
This story was originally published March 1, 2019 at 11:57 AM.
