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[[Image:BibleBelt.png|right|thumb|280px|The approximate extent of the Bible Belt, indicated in red]]
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A '''Bible Belt''' is a typically informal term for an area in which socially conservative [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] [[Protestantism]] is a dominant or pervasive part of the culture. The term "Bible Belt" was coined by the American journalist and social commentator [[H.L. Mencken]] in the early 1920s.
The result was '''speedy delete''' by [[User:Jimfbleak|Jimfbleak]], A7. Non-admin closure. [[User:Blueboy96|Blueboy]][[User talk:Blueboy96|96]] 11:10, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
In particular, in the [[United States]] it is an idiom<ref>{{cite web
===[[50 UK Campus Conversation Topics]]===
| title=Where is the Bible Belt
| url=http://ca.essortment.com/whereisthebib_rgux.htm
| accessdate=2007-07-27}}</ref> for the region where the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] denomination is strongest, usually meaning the [[Southern United States|South]] and nearby areas. However, many other church denominations are represented, such as [[Church of Christ]] and [[Assemblies of God]].
:{{la|50 UK Campus Conversation Topics}} – <includeonly>([[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/50 UK Campus Conversation Topics|View AfD]])</includeonly><noinclude>([[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/2007 July 21#{{anchorencode:50 UK Campus Conversation Topics}}|View log]])</noinclude>
In the United States the bible belt usually includes all of the southern states and often parts of their neighbors.
Advert for non-notable book. The author of the article is probably one of the authors of the book. -- [[User:RHaworth|RHaworth]] 02:21, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
*'''Speedy delete.''' Chinese-flavored [[WP:SPAM|spam]]. [[User:Realkyhick|Realkyhick]]
The following states are usually considered part of the 'Bible Belt.'
* '''Delete''' Not notable. [[User:Wikidudeman|'''<font color="blue">Wikidudeman</font>''']] <sup>[[User talk:Wikidudeman|(talk)]]</sup> 03:34, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
*'''Speedy Delete''' A [http://www.google.com.sg/search?as_q=&hl=en&num=100&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=50+UK+Campus+Conversation+Topics&as_oq=&as_eq=wikipedia&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&as_rights=&safe=images google search] shows absolutely no hits for this article. It is thus impossible to [[WP:V|verify]] the contents of this article. --<font style="background:gold">[[WP:EA|<font color="green">S</font>]][[User:Siva1979|iva1979]]</font><sup><font style="background:yellow">[[User talk:Siva1979|Talk to me]]</font></sup> 04:27, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
A '*' indicates that the state is only partly in the bible belt.
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* [[Alabama]]
* [[Arkansas]]
* [[Florida]]*
* [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
* [[ Indiana]]*
* [[ Iowa ]]*
* [[ Kansas]]
* [[Kentucky]]
* [[Louisiana]]*
* [[ Southern Maryland]]*
* [[Mississippi]]
* [[Missouri]]
* [[North Carolina]]
* [[Ohio]]*
* [[Oklahoma]]
* [[South Carolina]]
* [[Tennessee]]
* [[Texas]]
* [[Virginia]]*
* [[West Virginia]]
Bible belts can also be found in other countries, including [[Canada]], the [[Bible Belt (Netherlands)|Netherlands]], Northern Ireland and some parts of [[Europe]] and [[Oceania]] (particularly the [[Pacific Islands]]).
The American region is usually contrasted with [[Protestantism|mainstream Protestants]] and [[Liberal]][[ Catholics]] of the [[Northeastern United States|northeast]], the religiously diverse [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], the [[Mormon Corridor]] in [[Utah]] and southern [[Idaho]], and the relatively [[secular]] [[western United States]], where the percentage of non-religious people is the highest in the nation, reaching its maximum in the northwestern state of [[Washington state|Washington]] at 27%, compared to the Bible belt state of [[Alabama]], at only 6%.<ref>{{cite web
| title=American Religious Identification Survey
| work=www.gc.cuny.edu
| url=http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/key_findings.htm#StateFaith
}}</ref>
==Geography==
Although exact boundaries do not exist, it is generally considered to cover much of the area stretching from [[Texas]] in the southwest, northwest to [[Kansas]], north to most of [[Missouri]], northeast to [[Virginia]] and most parts of [[Southern Maryland]], and southeast to [[Lower Alabama|northern]] [[Florida]].
==Buckle of the belt==
Several locations are occasionally referred to as the "[[belt buckle|Buckle]] of the Bible Belt" :
*[[Greenville, South Carolina]], home of [[Bob Jones University]]
*[[Nashville, Tennessee]], home to the headquarters of many denominations, including the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] and the [[United Methodist Church]]'s Publishing House, is most frequently termed the "Buckle of the Bible Belt" (in addition, it is referred to as the "Protestant Vatican").
*[[Memphis, Tennessee]], home of [[Church of God in Christ]].
*[[Dayton, Tennessee]], site of the [[Scopes Monkey Trial]] and home of [[Bryan College]]
*[[Cleveland, Tennessee]], home of [[Lee University]] and the [[Church of God (Cleveland)|Church of God]] International Offices
*[[Springfield, Missouri]], home of the [[Assemblies of God]]
*[[Lynchburg, Virginia]], home of [[Jerry Falwell]]'s ministry and [[Liberty University]]
*[[Virginia Beach, Virginia]], home of [[Regent University]] and the [[700 Club]] with [[Pat Robertson]]
*[[Tulsa, Oklahoma]], home of [[Oral Roberts University]] and the ministries of [[Kenneth Hagin]] and [[Billy James Hargis]]
*[[Abilene, Texas]], home of [[Abilene Christian University|Abilene Christian University (Church of Christ)]], [[Hardin-Simmons University|Hardin-Simmons (Baptist) University]] and [[McMurry University|McMurry (Methodist) University]]
*[[Lubbock, Texas]], which has more churches per capita than anywhere else in the nation.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A19148-2003Jan20?language=printer</ref>
There are also several locations outside the Bible Belt that are centers of evangelical Christian activity, many of them are often called "[[Exclave]]s of the Bible Belt". They include [[Prescott, Arizona]]; [[Colorado Springs, Colorado]]; [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]]; [[Wheaton, Illinois]]; [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]]; and parts of [[Southern California]], particularly [[Orange County, California|Orange County]].
==Outside the U.S.==
In '''[[Australia]]''', the term usually refers to tracts within individual cities, for example the north-western suburbs of Sydney focusing on [[Baulkham Hills]] and the north-eastern suburbs of Adelaide focusing on [[Paradise, South Australia|Paradise]], [[Modbury, South Australia|Modbury]] and [[Golden Grove, South Australia|Golden Grove]].<ref> See [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/14/1094927585127.html]</ref>
In '''[[Canada]]''', the term is also sometimes used to describe several disparate regions which have a higher than average level of church attendance. These include the majority of rural southern [[Alberta]] and [[Saskatchewan]], parts of southern [[Manitoba]], the [[Fraser Valley]] of [[British Columbia]], the [[Annapolis Valley]] of [[Nova Scotia]] and the [[Saint John River|Saint John River Valley]] of [[New Brunswick]].<ref> See [http://www.abbotsfordtimes.com/issues02/103202/news/103202nn4.html]</ref>
In '''[[China]]''', [[Nanjing City]] is regarded as the area with the country's highest number of Christians since before 1949. Amity Publishing House, a Christian publisher is based in this city.<ref> see [http://www.beverlylahayeinstitute.org/articledisplay.asp?id=2084&department=BLI&categoryid=dotcommentary]</ref>
In '''[[Denmark]]''', the area of northwestern [[Jutland]] is often mentioned as a Bible Belt. The region has a large number of members of the [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] movement called "[[The Church Association for the Inner Mission in Denmark|Indre Mission]]".
In '''[[England]]''', the rural areas of [[East Anglia]] and the core of the [[City of London]] near St.Helen's Bishopsgate are sometimes considered a Bible Belt.<ref> http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,416545,00.html</ref>
In '''[[Finland]]''', the rural areas of [[Ostrobothnia]] are sometimes considered a Bible Belt.<ref>see [http://www.finnqueer.net/juttu.cgi?s=194_47_2] </ref>
In '''[[France]]''', [[Bourgogne|Burgundy]] is reportedly her least secular region, being predominately Catholic.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}
In '''[[Germany]]''', the southern areas of [[Bavaria]], and especially [[Swabia]], is often considered a Bible Belt.<ref>see [http://nightlight.typepad.com/nightlight/2005/04/new_kid_in_town.html] </ref>
In '''[[India]]''', the north eastern states of [[Nagaland]], [[Mizoram]] , [[Meghalaya]] and the hill districts of [[Manipur]] form a continuous Bible Belt. Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya are India's only Christian dominated states. In fact in Nagaland, Christians constitute 90.02%(2001 census) of the population, with 80% professing the Baptist faith and thereby earning the sobriquet of [[The most Baptist state in the world]]. The Bible belt has emerged as one of the major areas of the world that sends out missionaries, particularly to South Asia and South East Asia.
<ref>see [http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2006/february/38.51.html]</ref>
The '''[[Netherlands]]''' has a Bible Belt (''[[Bijbelgordel]]'') as well, stretching from [[Zeeland]] to [[Overijssel]]. Immigrants from this area to the U.S. formed the [[Christian Reformed Church in North America]]. See [[Bible Belt (Netherlands)]]
In '''[[New Zealand]]''', [[Mount Roskill]], [[Auckland]], contains the highest number of churches per capita in the country, and is the home of several Christian political candidates.<ref>see [http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-2606.html] </ref>
In '''[[Northern Ireland]]''', the region centered upon [[North Antrim]] is often referred to as Northern Ireland's Bible Belt. This is because the area is heavily Protestant with a large [[evangelical]] community. The MP for this constituency is [[Ian Paisley]], a [[Free Presbyterian]] [[Reverend]] well known for his theological [[fundementalism]],and his anti-Catholic and anti-nationalist rhetoric. The town of [[Ballymena]], is the largest town in the constituency, is often referred to as the 'buckle' of the Bible Belt.<ref> see [http://sluggerotoole.com/index.php/weblog/comments/more_news_from_the_bible_belt/]</ref>
In '''[[Norway]]''', the Bible Belt covers the coast on the southwestern parts of the country, where there is a high concentration of [[Pentecostals]], [[Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway|Free Churches]] and conservative members of the [[Church of Norway]]. See [[Fjellstrand, Norway]]<ref>see [http://www.expatexchange.com/rspgennet.cfm?rid=58&answerid=4848&networkid=159] </ref>
In '''[[Scotland]]''', the rural areas of [[Rosshire]], [[Hebrides]] and [[Western Isles]] are considered a Bible Belt. The [[Inverness]] area of northern Scotland is fast becoming a Bible Belt as churches in the region buck the national trend of decline with reports of swelling numbers<ref>see [http://www.christiantoday.com/article/north.scotland.churches.enjoy.swell.in.numbers/8788.htm] </ref>
In '''[[Sweden]]''', there is a Bible Belt covering the area around the city of [[Jönköping]] and Gothenburg, with a particular high concentration of non-conformists (Protestant congregations not affiliated with the [[Church of Sweden]]), especially [[Pentecostals]] and [[Congregational church|Congregationalist]]s - and strong support for the [[Christian Democrats (Sweden)|Christian Democrats]].<ref>see Eva M. Hamberg and Thorleif Pettersson, "The Religious Market: Denominational Competition and Religious Participation in Contemporary Sweden," ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,'' Vol. 33, No. 3 (Sep., 1994), pp. 205+ [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-8294(199409)33%3A3%3C205%3ATRMDCA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q in JSTOR] </ref>
==Geographical extent==
Tweedie (1978) defines the Bible belt in terms of the audience for religious television. He finds two belts, one more eastern that stretches from northern [[Florida]] through [[Alabama]], [[Tennessee]], [[Kentucky]], [[North Carolina|North]] and [[South Carolina]], and into [[Virginia]], and another that is more western, moving from central Texas to the Dakotas, but concentrated in [[Texas]], [[Arkansas]], [[Louisiana]], [[Oklahoma]], [[Missouri]], and [[Mississippi]]. Notably absent from this belt, however, is the area of [[New Orleans]] and southern Louisiana, where [[Roman Catholicism|Catholicism]] is predominant.<ref>{{cite web
| title=Archdiocese of New Orleans Demographics
| work=www.archdiocese-no.org
| url=http://www.archdiocese-no.org/demographics.htm
| accessdate=2006-07-27}}</ref>
In terms of demographics, the belt may in fact be most accurately described as extending westward to include most of West Texas and Eastern [[New Mexico]], and perhaps even farther into areas of southern New Mexico settled by Texans.
The accuracy of this expanded schema, however, rests on the question of whether demographic proportion of [[evangelical Christian]]s (or "[[fundamentalist Christian]]s") is sufficient to include an area as being part of the Belt, or whether other cultural characteristics are necessary.
Even with the presently accepted boundaries (as indicated on the map in this article), it is possible to theorize that the Bible Belt could be divided into two or more sub-regions, at least one of which could include the westernmost section -- including [[Texas]] -- as being distinctive from the [[Deep South]] and most of the [[Southeastern United States]].
==Political and cultural context==
The term ''Bible Belt'' is used either informally by journalists, or by its detractors, who suggest the region allows religion to spill over into politics, science and education.
The term was coined by [[H.L. Mencken]]. Reporting on the [[Scopes Trial]] in [[Dayton, Tennessee]] to the Baltimore Evening Sun on [[July 15]], [[1925]], Mencken wrote of the region as "this bright, shining, buckle of the Bible belt".
In [[1950]], President [[Harry Truman]] told Catholic leaders he wanted to send an ambassador to the [[Holy See|Vatican]]. Truman said the leading Democrats in Congress approved, but they warned him, "it would defeat Democratic Senators and Congressmen in the Bible Belt." [quoted in Amanda Smith, ''Hostage of Fortune'' (2001) p. 604].
In Presidential Elections, the Bible Belt of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi have always voted for the (conservative) Republican candidate since 1980; with the exception of Georgia dissenting in 1980 and 1992.<ref>http://www.arikah.com/encyclopedia/United_States_presidential_election,_1980</ref>
==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>
* Randall Balmer; ''Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism'' Baylor University Press, 2004
* Denman, Stan. "Political Playing for the Soul of the American South: Theater and the Maintenance of Cultural Hegemony in the American Bible Belt" ''Southern Quarterly'' (2004) v. 42, Spring, 64-72.
* Heatwole, C.A. "The Bible Belt; a problem of regional definition" ''Journal of Geography'' (1978) 77; 50-5
* Christine Leigh Heyrman, ''Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt'' (Knopf, 1997)
* Samuel S. Hill, Charles H. Lippy, and Charles Reagan Wilson, eds. ''Encyclopedia Of Religion In The South'' (2005)
* Charles H. Lippy, ed. "Religion in South Carolina" (1993)
* George M. Marsden, ''Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism, 1870-1925'' (1980).
* Jeffrey P. Moran; "The Scopes Trial and Southern Fundamentalism in Black and White: Race, Region, and Religion" ''Journal of Southern History''. Volume: 70. Issue: 1. 2004. pp 95+.
* Chris C. Park; ''Sacred Worlds: An Introduction to Geography and Religion'' Routledge, 1994
* Randy J. Sparks. ''Religion in Mississippi'' University Press of Mississippi for the Mississippi Historical Society, . 2001. ISBN 1-57806-361-2.
* William A. Stacey and Anson Shupe; "Religious Values and Religiosity in the Textbook Adoption Controversy in Texas, 1981" ''Review of Religious Research'', Vol. 25, 1984
* Tweedie, S.W. (1978) Viewing the Bible Belt. ''Journal of Popular Culture'' 11; 865-76
----
<references/>
==See also==
*[[Belt regions of the United States]]
*[[Born Again Christian]]
*[[Confederate States of America]]
*[[Southern United States]]
*[[Jesusland map|Jesusland]]
*[[Unchurched Belt]]
==Arts==
*[http://www.southarts.org/ Southern Arts Federation]
{{U.S. Belt regions}}
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[[Category:Christianity in the United States]]
[[Category:Christian evangelicalism]]
[[Category:Christian fundamentalism]]
[[Category:Regions of the United States]]
[[Category:Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity]]
[[Category:Southern United States]]
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