Why do people think KC is in the "Bible Belt"?

[RadioSilence]

Originally Posted by MidWestCityNative

I watched a documentary about it, which featured footage from inside the church during their mass. WBC looks and feels more like a cult and less like an actual church.

Fred Phelps doesn't scare me, he just makes me laugh. He reminds me of the Heaven's Gate guy.

Fall From Grace is the documentary, and it is available through NetFlix. The church is mostly members of the Phelps family and those associated by marriage.

[TabulaRasa]

Yep, Westboro Baptist Church is nearly exclusively a family affair, and really bears no resemblance whatsoever to mainstream organized religion, or any given church one might happen across, obviously. It's no less crackpot than, say, Scientology.

[RadioSilence]

From what I can discern, fewer people are embracing religion, but those who do are more boisterous about it. I have a co-worker who was a total womanizer, heavy drinker, etc., and has quite suddenly found Jesus in the last two months. Now he discusses the Bible with anyone he meets and posts verses on Facebook; it seems like the pod people snatched his body.

I have a mixed history. I grew up Protestant, baptized, attending the most easy-going church in the world, Plymouth Congregational in Lawrence, Kan. I played in the hand bell choir, which was the only reason I continued attending church as a teenager, even after confirmation. I have not attended church since leaving home. My mom grew up in the "Friends" church (Quaker), and my immigrant ancestor on my dad's side was Jewish, but the ancestor's wife remarried into a Protestant family after his death. So some of my cousins are Jewish and some are Protestant, depending on whose ancestor was still living at home at the time of the remarriage 145 years ago. I had a Wiccan first grade teacher. Some of my best friends as a child were evangelical (DCCS Lawrence), Mormon, Muslim (from Nigeria) and Buddhist (from Japan). You learn a lot about the world's creation stories, rites and traditions with friends and family like this, but not everyone has such access.

[mike0421]

Originally Posted by s.davis

Atlantic Cities actually recently addressed this question:

The Real Boundaries of the Bible Belt - Politics - The Atlantic Cities

here's what Gallup had to say about religiousity as a function of geography:

I am thinking that New Mexico should be the darkest green, this coming from a recently former resident.

[Bobilee]

Here's the Gallup Religion poll from 2009 and the map looks quite different, it depends on how you choose categories and how you choose the colors for your map. I don't think the change has been that large in just 2 years.

http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/...tksbouojiw.png

[xenokc]

This source claims to be 2011 data and shows Philly more religiously affiliated than US average..

Religion in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Metro Area, Pennsylvania

Percent Religiously Affiliated - Metro (not city)
US Avg: 48.35%
MO 47.97%
KC 45.17%
STL 47.84%
Philly 50.22%
CHI 53.27%
MSP 52.39%
NYC 57.92%
DC 42.56%
DAL 47.02%
HOU 45.1%
DEN 36.34%
ATL 41.8%
LA 53.92%
SF 37.46%
BOS 58.24%

[xenokc]

Originally Posted by RadioSilence

From what I can discern, fewer people are embracing religion, but those who do are more boisterous about it.

I agree with this. Some sources claim religion is growing in America (and there is some growth that comes with immigration) but it's probably too hard to tell overall because when one leaves a church for another, the old church may be still counting those who leave - as long as they're not asked to be taken off the mailing list, they are still a member. edit: Some are members of multiple churches. So one person/family may be counted multiple times. My family was a member of a church, but I never was into it and didn't join anything when I left home. Even after many years, the congregation very well may still count me a member even though I'm basically an atheist. I'd tell them to stop mailing me junk mail but it kept coming for many years - from another city!

I think there is more polarity than there used to be. More and more people are becoming less religious but more and more who are religious are becoming louder and politically active and/or shifting around to various churches/beliefs more than ever because newer faith-based groups have become commoditized like fast food in America - IE, megachurches and alti pseudo contemp Christians that repackage the religion for mass consumption of a new era. You can't herd atheists/non-religious any better than cats but a group of radical Christians (or any congregating group) stand out in mass media and can have significant political impact - the only difference between a religion and cult is that a cult has no political power. It's not just evangelicals, some Catholics are returning to the old theocratic ways. Santorum supporters essentially want a theocracy - fortunately he didn't have enough support, but he did expose another layer of theocrats.

The polarity seems higher than 30 or even 50 years ago I thought, until reading an article a couple months ago pretty convincingly stating America is seeing a religious/political division not seen since the Civil War. Don't recall who published it.