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• Bible Belt
  Bible Belt

  noun

  an area of the U.S., chiefly in the South and Midwest, noted for its religious fundamentalism.
• Bible belt
  Bible belt

  An area noted for religious fundamentalism; specifically, parts of the American South and Midwest. For example, You wouldn't dare try to sell a sex manual in the Bible belt. This term alludes to the prevalence of evangelical revivals, strict morals, belief in the literal truth of the Bible, and similar traits. [c. 1920]

Bible Belt

American  

noun

1. an area of the U.S., chiefly in the South and Midwest, noted for its religious fundamentalism.

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Bible Belt British  

noun

1. those states of the S US where Protestant fundamentalism is dominant

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Bible Belt Cultural  

1. An area of the United States, including the South and parts of the Middle West, where fervent Protestant fundamentalism is strong. (See Scopes trial.)

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Bible belt Idioms  

1. An area noted for religious fundamentalism; specifically, parts of the American South and Midwest. For example, You wouldn't dare try to sell a sex manual in the Bible belt. This term alludes to the prevalence of evangelical revivals, strict morals, belief in the literal truth of the Bible, and similar traits. [c. 1920]

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Etymology

Origin of Bible Belt

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30

Example Sentences

North Africa was by then the Bible Belt of the late Roman West, characterized by intense Christian devotion and intellectual ferment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025

"North Africa was the Bible Belt of ancient Christianity," says Prof Christopher Bellitto, a historian at Kean University in the US.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2025

Mark was from the Bible Belt; my parents were Holocaust survivors.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 21, 2025

Noble is deep in the Bible Belt and home to about 7,700 people; its residents are statistically more likely to be Republican, attend church, and own a gun.

From Slate • Aug. 12, 2024

Like the Sun Belt or the Bible Belt, there exists, on this multifarious earth of ours, a Hair Belt.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides