Churches losing less educated?

A study by W. Bradford Wilcox, a sociologist at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, found that since the 1970s, white Americans with no more than a high school diploma dropped out of church twice as fast as their higher-educated counterparts.

Other research has connected higher education levels with lower religious belief, and less attraction to literal interpretations of the Bible.

People with more education, the theory goes, are more skeptical of religious claims.

But when it comes to religious behavior, college-educated whites seem to have more time, money and motivation to attend religious services, Wilcox said.