These Are the 10 Least "Bible-Minded" Cities in the U.S. — Where Does Yours Rank?

Impact

Finally, the list that everyone in America has been waiting for: The American Bible Society’s rankings of the most and least "Bible-Minded" cities in the United States. Did your city make the top/bottom 10? 

Top 10 "Bible-Minded" Cities:

1.Chattanooga, TN

2.Birmingham/Anniston/Tuscaloosa, AL

3. Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA

4. Springfield, MO

5. Shreveport, LA

6. Charlotte, NC

7. Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C./Asheville, NC

8. Little Rock/Pine Bluff, AR

9. Jackson, MS

10. Knoxville, TN

Bottom 10 "Bible-Minded" Cities:

1.Providence, RI/New Bedford, MA

2. Albany/Schenectady/Troy, NY

3. Boston, MA/Manchester, NH

4. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, CA

5. Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, IA

6. Buffalo, NY.

7. Hartford/New Haven, CN

8. Phoenix/Prescott, AZ

9. Burlington/Plattsburgh, VT

10. Portland/Auburn, ME

The ABS broke down which U.S. cities are filled with dedicated bible readers and which are populated by godless heathens. The results are pretty much what you’d expect: "Not surprisingly, many cities in the East Coast continued to rank as the least Bible-minded in 2013" according to the ABS, while the new rankings show "that the Midwest and South continues [sic] to perform strongly." Seriously, they don’t call it the "Bible belt" for nothing.

No one is shocked that the South did better in the rankings. More interesting, perhaps, is the relationship of population and "Bible mindedness." The ABS found that "an inverse relationship exists between population size and Bible friendliness." Only three of the top 25 bible-friendly cities have a population greater than one million. 

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that America’s largest cities are getting smarter (better educated), literally: urban areas are seeing an influx of college graduates with a lack of religiosity. Not to mention that Atheism is on the rise overall in the U.S., and atheists are disproportionately younger than the general population. So it’s not hard to see why America’s largest metros aren’t the most bible-minded. 

The rankings are based on self-reported surveys conducted by the ABS on regular reading of the bible and belief in what it says.

Check out the full list below:

Source: American Bible Society