Bible Belt
The Bible Belt is a geographical region including part of the South and midsection of the United States. It is so called because of the rough shape of the region: it resembles a belt around much of the lower middle of the nation and the majority of the inhabitants are practicing Christians (hence the 'Bible' belt). Social conservatism is a dominant paradigm within the Bible Belt.
The Bible Belt includes all of the southern states as well as the Lower Midwestern States. Perhaps the spiritual center of the Bible Belt is Oklahoma, where some streets are lined with church after church. Various places, including Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee have all claimed to contain the "buckle" of the Bible Belt, a term usually used to refer to the most conservative or most fundamentalist Christian town or county in the Belt. The term "buckle of the Bible Belt" was, in fact, originally used in a derogatory fashion to refer to a town in Tennessee.
Bible Belt States
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Florida (Northern part)
- Georgia
- Illinois (Southern part)
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Nebraska (Southern part)
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New Mexico (South Western corner)
- North Carolina
- Ohio (Southern part)
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- West Virginia