![]() The states of the Bible Belt are also leaders in teen pregnancies and homicides. For instance, inasmuch as conservative Christians in the Bible Belt may preach about the sanctity of marriage, some of the Bible Belt states lead the U.S. The Bible Belt also leads in many other categories that would normally be considered vices by its conservative Christian residents. In fact, the Bible Belt state of Mississippi was found to lead the entire country in the consumption of gay pornography. For instance, while religious conservatives in the Bible Belt have traditionally criticized homosexuality, statistics show that gay pornography is more popular in what is generally considered Bible Belt territory than in more liberal states. Perhaps the most intriguing feature of the Bible Belt is the contradiction between the supposed adherence of people in the region to God-faring principles and the reality on the ground. Today, however, some view Utah as a part of the Bible Belt, even though a non-Protestant church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has the greatest number of followers in the state. Hence, Zelinsky implied that the term “Bible Belt” should only refer to places where the overwhelming majority of people are white Protestants. Southern Louisiana was mostly Catholic, Southern Texas was mostly Hispanic, and Southern Florida was demographically very diverse. was that they were not overwhelmingly Protestant. His reason for excluding these parts of the U.S. Interestingly, however, he did not consider the southern parts of Louisiana, Texas, or Florida as being part of the Bible Belt, no matter how religious they were. These areas comprised most of what constitutes the U.S. In 1961, a geographer named Wilbur Zelinsky argued that the Bible Belt consisted of areas in which the Southern Baptists, Methodists, and evangelical Christians were the predominant religious denominations. In fact, when describing the region, he also referred to it as the Hookworm Belt and Lynching Belt.ĭefining The Bible Belt A Traditional Evangelical Church in the Southern United States. Mencken used the term in a derogatory way, mocking the religious zealousness of the people in the vast U.S. The term first appeared in one of his articles that he wrote for the Chicago Daily Tribune. Mencken, who first used the term in 1924, when he was covering the Scopes Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tennessee. The term “Bible Belt” is thought to have been coined by a journalist named H.L. ![]() In fact, the very term “Bible Belt” was first used to criticize the religious fervor of people living in the region. In other, more liberal parts of the U.S., people in the Bible Belt are sometimes mocked for their religiosity. Indeed, their faith affects many aspects of their lives, including their politics and social values. The region is one in which people are strongly devoted to their Christian faith. In addition, the southern parts of Florida and Texas are not generally considered to be part of the Bible Belt. states, including Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. South, though the term may also apply to the southern parts of some northern U.S. ![]() Generally speaking, the term “Bible Belt” is used to describe a wide swathe of territory comprising most of the U.S.
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