Maria’s Question About Religious Beliefs of the Southern United States

Cee Harmon answers:

Hi Maria,

Here is sampling two of the “southern” states (Georgia and Tennessee) and their religious beliefs I found Baptist is #1 and Methodist is #2.

The religious affiliations of the people of Tennessee where I am from are:

Religious Beliefs

*Christian: 82%
Baptist: 39%
Methodist: 10%
Church of Christ: 6%
Roman Catholic: 6%
Presbyterian: 3%
Church of God: 2%
Lutheran: 2%
Pentecostal: 2%
Other Christian (includes unspecified “Christian” and “Protestant”): 12%

*Other religions: 3%
Islam: 1%
Judaism: 0.5%

*Non-religious: 9%

Source: American Religious Identification Survey

Note: Tennessee is home to several Protestant denominations, such as the Church of God in Christ, the Church of God and The Church of God o

Mount Olive Baptist Church (Religious Beliefs -- Southern Baptist Convention) in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

f Prophecy, both located in (Cleveland, Tennessee), and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The Free Will Baptist denomination is headquartered in Antioch, and its main Bible college is in Nashville. The Southern Baptist Convention maintains its general headquarters in Nashville. Publishing houses of several denominations are located in Nashville.

The state’s small Muslim, and Jewish communities are mainly centered in the metropolitan areas of Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee

The religious affiliations of the people in Georgia are:

Like most other Southern states, religious beliefs in Georgia is largely Protestant Christian. The religious affiliations of the people of Georgia are as follows:[27]

Religious Beliefs

Protestant: 70%
Baptist: 24%
Methodist: 12%
Presbyterian: 3%
Pentecostal: 3%
Catholic: 12%
Other: 3%
Non-religious: 13%
Georgia shares its Protestant heritage with much of the Southeastern United States.

The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Southern Baptist Convention with 1,719,484; the United Methodist Church with 570,674; and the Catholic Church with 374,185.[28]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(U.S._state)#Religion

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Cee Harmon answers:

Hi Mandy,

The following states are usually considered to be, wholly or partly, included in the “Bible Belt“:

Alabama
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia

“Buckle” of the Bible Belt
Several locations are occasionally referred to as the “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

Bible belt (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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 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 (Church of Christ), Hardin-Simmons (Baptist) University and McMurry (Methodist) University
Lubbock, Texas, which has more churches per capita than anywhere else in the nation.[3]
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, home to two major evangelical seminaries, Dallas Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and home of several of America’s largest megachurches.

There are also several locations outside the Bible Belt that are centers of evangelical Christian activity, many of them are often called “Enclaves 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.

You can also check out this article with video by Sovereign Grace Ministries about church planting in the Bible Belt:

Church Planting in the Bible Belt (Video)

www.sovereigngraceministries.org

Bible Belt Churches. Providence Community Church is located in Lenexa, KS. If you looked at a map, that puts it right in the heart of middle America and the bible belt. Grace Church is located in Frisco, TX. That’s just outside …

*Elevate Christian Network