American Bible Society published Wednesday a seven-year survey study that ranks top 100 U.S. cities according to the least to most "Bible-mindedness."
Chattanooga, Tennessee, ranks No. 1, according to the ministry's second consecutive study, America's Most Bible-Minded Cities. The other top cities that falls within the top 10 most Bible-minded cities in 2013 are Birmingham, Alabama; Shreveport, Louisiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Jackson, Missisippi.
"This finding shows that the Midwest and South continues to perform strongly," according ABS' statement.
On the opposite end, the adjacent metros of Providence, Rhode Island, and New Bedford, Massachusetts are ranked as the least "Bible-minded" cities in America. It is then followed by Albany, New York, and Boston, Mass.
Yet another surprise is that San Francisco Bay Area, consisting of San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco, in northern California is ranked the No. 4 least "Bible-minded" regions in all of the country. This region represents the Silicon Valley, where a whole hosts of tech giants - Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Linkedin, Intel, Dell, HP, Nvidia, Apple, Cisco, Paypal, eBay - are located.
Meanwhile, 'Sin City' Las Vegas is ranked 90th. New Orleans, another city known for its Mardi Gras for pleasure-seeker, came in at No. 35.
According to ABS' statement, the study defines "Bible-mindedness" as a combination of how often respondents read the Bible and how accurate they think the Bible is.
The study was compiled through survey data collected from conducting interviews by phone and online over a period of seven years. The ministry asked a random sample of more than 46,000 people nationwide if they had read the Bible in the past seven days. If they had, and if they "agree strongly in the accuracy of the Bible," they were deemed "Bible Minded," according to the study's authors. It then ranked the cities accordingly.
In general, the study found an inverse relationship between population density and "Bible-friendliness."
Many cities in the East Coast continued to rank as the least Bible-minded in 2013. Yet, the anomaly in this generalization is New York City, which came in at 89th in the list.
In the 25 most Bible-minded cities, Charlotte, North Carolina; Nashviller, Tennessee; and Dallas, Texas, had populations of more than 1 million households.
"An analysis of interaction with and views of the Bible continues to help us evaluate the Bible landscape in America," says Geoffrey Morin, Chief Communication Officer of American Bible Society. "To help people engage with the [Bible], we need to understand where people are starting from."
"We want people to know that whether you live in the least or most Bible-minded cities, the Bible can speak to your needs, challenges and concerns and help you make sense of your life."
said Morin.
The full list ranked 1 to 100 can be seen below on ABS' infographics of the America's Most Bible-Minded Cities
Most Bible-Minded Cities/2013
1. Chattanooga, Tenn.
2. Birmingham, Ala.
3. Roanoke/Lynchburg, Va.
4. Springfield, Mo.
5. Shreveport, La.
6. Charlotte, N.C.
7. Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C./Asheville, N.C.
8. Little Rock, Ark.
9. Jackson, Miss.
10. Knoxville, Tenn.
Least Bible-Minded Cities/2013
1. Providence, R.I./New Bedford, Mass.
2. Albany, N.Y.
3. Boston
4. San Francisco
5. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
6. Buffalo, N.Y.
7. Hartford/New Haven, Conn.
8. Phoenix
9. Burlington, Vt.
10. Portland, Maine
