In Kentucky, there are over one million citizens belonging to the Evangelical Protestant denomination of Christianity. According to the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA), as of 2010, the next largest group of Christian membership was Mainline Protestants. From 2000-2010, up to 96 new congregations were added for those of the Baptist, Latter-Day Saints, and Pentecostal faiths. Kentucky’s cultural history has early ties to Christianity.

The Madison County Historical Society of Kentucky reports that the state formed its first Baptist congregation as early as 1775, with a local Methodist congregation following soon after. The Catholic Church has not added as many congregations, but has retained a large population of adherents in Kentucky over the last decade, currently totaling over 300,000 of the state’s religions following.

Education in Kentucky

Kentucky is nationally known as the home of many seminaries and Christian schools. Christian colleges in Kentucky like Asbury University, Campbellsville University, and Warner University, for instance, have all ranked high on national lists of the most reputable and respected institutions. While these colleges have prioritized spiritually-oriented curriculum, a wide variety of eclectic programs, including majors like liberal arts, nursing, science, and education, are also available.

The state of Kentucky has made a concerted effort to bring higher education to those without campus access through the addition of online learning opportunities; all three of the schools listed above offer some form of distance learning through their websites. Overall initiatives to encourage higher learning yielded an 18.8% increase in college enrollment between 2005 and 2010.

Kentucky Christian colleges are among the many higher learning institutions looking to innovative technology for new ways to provide top-notch education to those seeking spiritual as well as educational fulfillment.

Working in Kentucky

Non-farm industries and occupations in Kentucky are actually quite prevalent in all urban areas. The U.S. Census attributed the largest number of industry employment to the educational services, and health care and social assistance sector, as of 2011. Other industries with high employment included manufacturing and retail trade, respectively.

Within these areas, the labor force in Kentucky held occupations in management, business, science, and the arts, as well as performed sales and office jobs, also according to Census reports. In addition, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also cites large populations of workers employed in trade, transportation, and utilities, as well as local government jobs, as recently as February 2013.

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