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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

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

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

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 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

There’s accuracy in that; they don’t call those states the Bible belt for nothing.

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2025

You grew up in America's conservative Bible belt.

From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2024

A new proposal to legalize traditional casinos and establish a lottery, two forms of gambling that have traditionally encountered backlash in the heart of the Bible belt, has surfaced at the behest of conservative lawmakers.

From The Guardian ● May 24, 2015

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