Study: Birmingham is America’s most ‘Bible-minded’ city

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January 25, 2015

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama’s largest city is also the most “Bible-minded” city in the country.

In its yearly study,the American Bible Society, an organization which seeks to “provide God’s Word to hard-to-reach places, bringing hope across barriers of geography, translation, oppression and injustice,” determined how Bible-minded 100 cities were by asking how many respondents had read the bible in the last seven days, and how strongly they believed in its accuracy.

The cities surveyed are the top 100 media markets as determined by Nielsen ratings data.

While only 27% of respondents were considered Bible-minded nationally, a whopping 51% earned that distinction in the Birmingham/Tuscaloosa/Anniston area.

In the 2013 survey the Birmingham area ranked #2 at a slightly lower 50%.

The survey, which has been conducted for the last three years, confirms some of the stereotypes about religiosity across the country.

America’s Most Bible-Minded Cities 2015, our third consecutive study, shows that the states in the Bible Belt still performed strongly, while East Coast cities continue to rank last as the least Bible-minded in 2015.

Along with ranking the most and least Bible-minded cities, the study also found small cities generally performed better than did large cities. Just one of the top 10 Bible-minded cities rank in the top 25 media markets.

Here are the top 10 most Bible-minded cities:
1. Birmingham / Anniston / Tuscaloosa, AL
2. Chattanooga, TN
3. Tri-Cities, TN
4. Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA
5. Shreveport, LA
6. Springfield, MO
7. Jackson, MS
8. Charlotte, NC
9. Greenville / Spartanburg / Anderson, SC / Asheville, NC
10. Little Rock / Pine Bluff, AR

And here are the bottom 10:
91. New York, NY
92. Phoenix / Prescott, AZ
93. Buffalo, NY
94. Hartford / New Haven, CT
95. Las Vegas, NV
96. Cedar Rapids / Waterloo, IA
97. San Francisco / Oakland / San Jose, CA
98. Boston, MA / Manchester, NH
99. Albany / Schenectady / Troy, NY
100. Providence, RI / New Bedford, MA

“Whether they live in one of the most or least Bible-minded cities,” said Andrew Hood, managing director of communications for the American Bible Society, “the Bible can speak to their needs and challenges and help them make sense of life.”