New England population density is low. Today, New England is the least religious region of the U.S. In 2009, less than half of those polled in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont claimed that religion was an important part of their daily lives. In Connecticut and Rhode Island, also among the ten least religious states, 55 and 53%, respectively, of those polled claimed that it was. According to the American Religious Identification Survey, 34% of Vermonters, a plurality, claimed to have no religion; on average, nearly one out of every four New Englanders identifies as having no religion, more than in any
Invest in US the $750 million total, $250 million was awarded in Education Department grants to these 18 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. And $500 million in funding from the Health and Human Services Department is going to more than 40 states to expand Early Head Start and child care programs. The Invest in US and federal funding combined targeted more than $1 billion in funding for early childhood education. Though praised by early learning advocates, the funding was noted by several sources to be