Pass the syrup, but religion gets sticky: Faithful persevere in secular Vermont (reporting from Springfield, Vt.). Page 1 lead. SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Folks in the Green Mountain State like their economy syrupy sweet. The rural, thickly forested New England state produces 39 percent of the United States’ maple syrup. The state’s 626,000 residents are less sweet on religion: Vermont ranks as the nation’s most secular … Continue reading Pass the syrup, but religion gets sticky in Vermont

Singing, sweating and saving souls in West Virginia (reporting from Parkersburg, W.Va.). Page 1 lead. PARKERSBURG, W.VA. – The heat was on. That’s what happens when you take 90-degree temperatures, on-fire-for-the-Lord church members and a 1950s-era high school field house with no air-conditioning — and put them all together. Hundreds of hand fans fluttered, volunteers passed out ice-cold bottled water and sweat-drenched Christians wiped their foreheads … Continue reading Singing, sweating and saving souls in West Virginia