Is Your Hometown “Bible Minded?”

A nation of Bible readers!

In third place was Chattanooga, Tenn. When it comes to the cities that revere the Bible most fervently, the South corners the market. In the top ranking cities, as Barna notes, at least half of the populations qualify as Bible-minded. “Naturally, one wonders what, exactly, it means to be ‘Bible-minded,’” mused Hallowell. “After all, there are a plethora of indicators, with different people holding divergent ideas about how the book should be read and processed. Here’s how the analysis worked: Pollsters identified people who said that they read their Bible in a typical week – while also strongly noting their belief that the book is accurate in the sentiments it teaches. They qualify as 'Bible-minded.' So, the measure is two-fold; it involves a mixture of action and adherence."

A nation of Bible readers!

While the South has the most Bible-believing residents, New England has the fewest. The lowest Bible-minded scores came from Providence, R.I. (9 percent) and Albany, N.Y. (10 percent). In third at the bottom was Burlington, VT (16 percent) where more than half of all adults are unchurched. Completing the bottom ten were Portland, Maine (16 percent), Hartford, Conn. (16 percent), Boston (16 percent), San Francisco (16 percent), Phoenix (17 percent), and Las Vegas (18 percent) and Cedar Rapids, Iowa (18 percent). At 12^th place from the bottom was New York City, NY (18 percent). Surprisingly, right behind it was the headquarters of the Mormon church, Salt Lake City (19 percent).