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Red state DOES NOT = Bible Belt. There is a big difference between true conservatives and the Christian right.
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This is a great post BChris. I will say that Okies, Arkies, and Texans have always known we're pretty much the most theologically/morally conservative folks on the block. I certainly can't speak for everyone, but in my book that is a very good thing and gives OK, TX, and AR a unique (good or bad) feel religiously and in the way folks deal with one another.
Huh? I never heard of that. Most theological and morally conservative folks on the block? I don't think so. Especially Texas. There are quite a few million liberal folks in Texas. I think you probably meant just Oklahoma and Arkansas. I would say South Carolina beats both OK and AR as far morally conservative.
Huh? I never heard of that. Most theological and morally conservative folks on the block? I don't think so. Especially Texas. There are quite a few million liberal folks in Texas. I think you probably meant just Oklahoma and Arkansas. I would say South Carolina beats both OK and AR as far morally conservative.
Spade,
I agree I probably should have qualified my assertion somewhat. I used too broad of a brush to paint Texas with.
I will say that I live here in North Texas and it is very much in the heart of the Bible Belt.....almost identical to the way of life I had in south-central Oklahoma. Texas may not be as Bible thumpin' (<-------a good thing if you ask me, nah just kidding) as Oklahoma or Arkansas, but the south-central states tend to lean very clearly to a strong moral/theological worldview.
Definitely Oklahoma and Arkansas (kissin' cousins) and Texas is a close third.
I don't know if using Baptist church membership is the best thing to equate with where the Bible Belt begins and ends. The SBC has stagnated in growth in the last decade. The pentecostal/charismatic denominations and non-denominational churches have grown at the SBC's expense. However, you will find that these denominations are as "bible belt" in their outlook politically as the SBC. Most of the Mega Churches that have sprouted in the last couple of decades are in this category, not as much the SBC.
The Bible Belt also will cause some of the mainline churches to be more conservative. Methodists are historically strong in the south. You will find methodists in the southern states to be more conservative than methodists in other parts of the country.
Coming from Atlanta, many have stated it is not part of the bible belt. Maybe ITP (inside the perimeter for those of you not familiar with the area) is not as bible belt as it used to be, but the surrounding donut is as bible belt as an area gets. Many of the largest mega churches in America are in the Atlanta suburbs.
Florida is a major player in the bible belt. It of course has had an inlux from other areas, the southern parts especially, but the rest of the state is definitely a strong part of the bible belt. Some of the largest most influential mega churches are in Florida. The Orlando area does have a strong bible belt feel, Lakeland and Pensacola are home to two of the most well recorded charismatic revivals of the last two decades.
Of course the term bible belt is subjective, that is why there are so many differing views as to what it is are represented on this thread.
Indiana wouldn't exactly fit on the belt, but even in northern Indiana you see religious billboards and lots of cornfield churches. Southern Indiana has a Bible outlet store, the state's largest newspaper has a Bible quote on the front page and a Billy Graham column inside. Also, the state offers an optional standard license plate the says "In God We Trust".
Where I've heard the northern end of the Bible Belt is
I read this somewhere. What is Bible Belt and what isn't can be delinated by several factors:
1. Church listings in the yellow pages. Look up the church listings in a town's yellow pages. In the Bible Belt you have lots of Baptist churches, but also Assemblies of God, Open Bible, Nazarene, and lots of churches with many names (Church of Holiness Jesus Christ of the First Apostle Savior..............).
2. Areas north of the Bible Belt tend to be heavily Catholic or Lutheran.
With that in mind (especially #1), I read where the northern end of the Bible Belt is. In some areas, it is very sharp (as in parts of Iowa):
It starts somewhere around the PA-MD line (not sure here); goes west through southern Ohio; WNW to encompass Illinois somewhere in the central part; goes WNW to encompass the southern half of Iowa (Des Moines is barely in it; Ames is not); goes WSW through extreme SE Nebraska (Omaha isn't in it); SW bisecting Kansas; and encompasses far eastern NM; ending somewhere in far west Texas.
I may be wrong, but that is what I remember reading.
I read this somewhere. What is Bible Belt and what isn't can be delinated by several factors:
1. Church listings in the yellow pages. Look up the church listings in a town's yellow pages. In the Bible Belt you have lots of Baptist churches, but also Assemblies of God, Open Bible, Nazarene, and lots of churches with many names (Church of Holiness Jesus Christ of the First Apostle Savior..............).
2. Areas north of the Bible Belt tend to be heavily Catholic or Lutheran.
With that in mind (especially #1), I read where the northern end of the Bible Belt is. In some areas, it is very sharp (as in parts of Iowa):
It starts somewhere around the PA-MD line (not sure here); goes west through southern Ohio; WNW to encompass Illinois somewhere in the central part; goes WNW to encompass the southern half of Iowa (Des Moines is barely in it; Ames is not); goes WSW through extreme SE Nebraska (Omaha isn't in it); SW bisecting Kansas; and encompasses far eastern NM; ending somewhere in far west Texas.
I may be wrong, but that is what I remember reading.
eastern NM and west Texas has alot of christian stores, I noticed this a couple weeks ago when I was there.
I do agree that parts of Southern Illinois are in the Bible Belt, but not all of it. The excluded parts are the Metro-East (The part of the St. Louis metropolitan area that extends into Illinois), and Carbondale, IL, an educated, liberal university town of about 30,000 people. It has also been voted one of the greenest and most educated large town in the U.S. and Southern Illinois University has been rated as one of the best universities in the Midwest.
I don't know if using Baptist church membership is the best thing to equate with where the Bible Belt begins and ends. The SBC has stagnated in growth in the last decade. The pentecostal/charismatic denominations and non-denominational churches have grown at the SBC's expense. However, you will find that these denominations are as "bible belt" in their outlook politically as the SBC. Most of the Mega Churches that have sprouted in the last couple of decades are in this category, not as much the SBC.
I did want to use a mix of conservative Baptist, Pentecostal/Charismatic, and possibly a few of the more conservative Restorationist churches. It's just I don't know of a source that tells you the combine percentages on those.
The following from 2006, although it's Rasmussen, gives some on views of the Bible in individual states.
States where over 65% see the Bible as literally true are
Alabama
Arkansas
Tennessee
West Virginia
Where between 60% and 64% see it as literally true
Georgia
South Carolina
Texas
Around 18 states seem not to be listed including Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. Of states listed Kansas, Michigan, and Nebraska have a higher percent believing in the Bible as literally true than Virginia. The lowest rate they list for a "red state" is Alaska at 37% while the highest rate they list for a "blue state" is probably the aforementioned Michigan at 54%. Granted I somehow think of Michigan as a swing state, but the last Republican Presidential candidate to win Michigan seems to have been Bush Sr.
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, nah just kidding) as Oklahoma or Arkansas, but the south-central states tend to lean very clearly to a strong moral/theological worldview.
Where I've heard the northern end of the Bible Belt is
