Barna and the American Bible Society have just released their annual look at the most “Bible-minded” cities in the country. The big takeaway? The South really is still the Bible-belt (as seen in this infograph from Barna. The study measures “Biblical engagement” by conducting national surveys that gauge how frequently residents actually read the Bible and asks how “strongly [they] assert the Bible is accurate in the principles it teaches.” All of the top 10 most Bible-minded cities this year were below the Mason-Dixon line.
Chattanooga, Tennessee (2012 – 2014’s most Bible-minded city), reclaimed the No. 1 spot and was followed by the Birmingham/Anniston/Tuscaloosa metropolitan area of Alabama, Roanoke/Lynchburg, Virginia, Shreveport, Louisiana and Tri-Cities, Tennessee. Much like previous years, most the “least Bible-minded” regions were in the Northeast, with the Albany/Schenectady/Troy area claiming the top spot, followed by Boston and Providence, Rhode Island. You can go here to see the full list.
