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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

See Examples For:

Bible Belt Bible belt

Growing up in the Bible Belt, I took great solace in promises of God’s protection, His plans for my life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

Most days, in the heart of Pennsylvania’s Bible Belt, the old sanctuary at Christ Lutheran Church sits empty.

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 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

Throughout this month, persistent triple-digit temperatures have blanketed the Bible Belt, sometimes exceeding 120 degrees.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2023

Other donors to the Christian Union are members of local elites across the Bible Belt.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

You grew up in America's conservative Bible belt.

From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2024

We will sing hymns that congregants in churches in the Bible belt will also be singing that day, and we will sing them without fear, or self-loathing, or shame.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2022

Related: I am a Christian from the Bible belt.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 1, 2016

I am not a Christian, and don't want people to think of me as one, but living in the Bible belt, with a large majority Christian population, most people assume I am anyway.

From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2013

Hollywood recently remade the 80s movie Footloose about a town in the Bible belt that forbade dancing, meaning kids have to sneak into abandoned farmhouses to get their groove on.

From Forbes ● Oct. 19, 2011