( CNN ) -- Once again a new Gallup Poll has reported that Vermont is the least religious state in the country , with only 22 % of the people willing to call themselves `` very religious . '' On the other side of the poll , there is Mississippi , where a whopping 61 % of citizens lay claim to that self-description . But what does it really mean to be `` very religious '' and not just spiritual ? I 've been living in Vermont for much of my adult life , adding up to nearly four decades . And I 've been keenly interested in the question of religion , having written a biography of Jesus and practiced Christianity as best I can for much of my life . I 've also traveled in the South quite often , and understand where that 61 % comes from : Not long ago I drove across Mississippi , and I could n't find a secular radio station on the dial . It was all preachers , all sounding alike . Repent , repent , repent . Billboards everywhere shouted religious slogans . It seemed there was a church on every street corner in every town I passed through . So what 's going on here ? Do Mississippians have a direct line to the divine ? Do n't the majority of people of Vermont also have an interest in religion or belief in God ? Is this why Vermont was the first state in the union to allow for civil unions ? And does secularism run rampant here ? On any given Sunday , while I 'm sitting in church , many of my neighbors are out walking in the woods , skiing , or reading a book by the woodstove ( it 's what we do in Vermont ) . Indeed traditional churches in Vermont struggle to fill their pews , and one often sees churches being sold off to real estate developers , who convert them into apartments or places where secular business can take place under high ceilings that once filled with prayers . But it would be a mistake to assume the absence of the usual trappings of religion means that people in Vermont -- or anywhere , really -- are n't pondering the big questions . Religious affiliation does n't necessarily equate with spirituality in any deep way . Indeed , when I step into my local co-operative food store in Vermont , the bulletin board is crammed with listings for local meditation groups or yoga classes or panel discussions on `` spirit and nature . '' The community spirit is strong in this state , and the value of helping one 's neighbor is cherished here as much as anywhere . And these values include things like spending money on education , on good health care for all , and making sure that the land itself is responsibly used , with a keen awareness of environmental consequences . Indeed , Vermont was chosen the No . 1 greenest state in a recent poll . I 'm not sure that the religious fervor in Mississippi necessarily results in any of these things , For example , the state consistently ranks near the bottom in health care for low income people and environmental responsibility . For some years I 've taught courses at Middlebury College on poetry and spirituality , and students often say to me : `` I 'm spiritual but not religious . '' They are , nevertheless , on a quest . They like to ask big questions about God , about human fulfillment , about spiritual practice in the widest possible terms . With them I explore major spiritual texts , including the Book of Psalms , ancient Taoist poems from China , Islamic poetry , and the work of such great Christian poets as John Donne , George Herbert , Gerard Manley Hopkins , and T.S . Eliot . My sense is that there is no end of genuine interest in spiritual matters among students in my neck of Vermont . Yet many of the traditional churches -- in Vermont as elsewhere -- fail to address questions of spirituality in ways that interest those who might have a deep spiritual longing but ca n't profess a simple faith in God or subscribe to any dogma . Jesus himself put forward the essential questions : What does it mean to live an ethical life ? What is this mysterious thing called `` spirit '' and how does it relate to questions about God ? How do we live , as people of faith , in communion with each other as well as God ? In so many ways , Jesus was the ultimate seeker , hungry for the deepest kinds of experience . He looked for , and found , astonishing answers , inviting us to follow him in our quest . From what I can tell , God-hunger is alive and well in Vermont . But it tends to thrive outside the walls of traditional churches ( though it can be found there as well , as apparently 22 % of Vermonters will say ) . I would refer the good pollsters at Gallup back to the story of Jesus , who when asked by pesky Pharisees where the Kingdom of God could be found , said : `` Do n't say , look , it 's here or there ! For , behold , the kingdom of God is within you . '' ( Luke 17:21 ) That 's a challenging response , but it might not register as an appropriate answer on any Gallup Poll . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jay Parini .
Jesus : CNN poll finds Mississippi least religious state . Vermont is most religious . He says in South , religion all over radio , road signs , towns ; in Vermont fewer go to church . But Vermont ranks high on environment , health care . Mississippi ranks at bottom . Parini : Vermonters spiritual seekers , God-hungry : neighbor-helpers more than churchgoers .