{"id":101910,"date":"2021-05-04T12:30:12","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T16:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=101910"},"modified":"2021-05-04T17:49:01","modified_gmt":"2021-05-04T21:49:01","slug":"lr-the-vanishing-bible-belt-the-secrets-southern-churches-must-learn-to-stay-healthy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=101910","title":{"rendered":"(LR) The Vanishing Bible Belt: The Secrets Southern Churches Must Learn to Stay Healthy"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Barna\u2019s ranking<\/a> of the most post-Christian cities in America, New England and the West Coast predictably dominate the top of the list. But keep scrolling, and you\u2019ll begin to spot some Southern states. Texas, Florida, and North Carolina all have cities in the top 50.<\/p>\n

Perhaps more telling is the change that\u2019s taken place since the list was first published in 2017. At least 20 cities in the Southeast have grown more post-Christian, some of them dramatically.<\/p>\n

In Charleston, S.C., Barna\u2019s research showed 22% of the population was considered post-Christian in 2017. Two years later, the number rose to 34%.<\/p>\n

The Waco-Temple-Bryan region of Texas jumped from 32% post-Christian in 2017 to 43% in 2019.<\/p>\n

To qualify as \u201cpost-Christian,\u201d individuals must meet at least nine criteria such as not believing in God, not attending church in the past six months, and disagreeing that the Bible is accurate.<\/p>\n

Dallas, Texas; Jacksonville, Fla.; Raleigh, N.C.; Atlanta, Ga.; Norfolk, Va.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Baton Rouge, La; and Charleston, W.Va. are among the other Bible Belt cities that saw an increase in post-Christian culture.<\/p>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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If the current trajectories continue, the religious demographics of the South in 10 years will look similar to the current West and Northeast. https:\/\/t.co\/sR4jg4poe4<\/a><\/p>\n

— Lifeway Research (@LifewayResearch) May 4, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n