Alabama is the heart of the Bible Belt. But some cities apparently take that more seriously than others. lgore@al.com.

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Joanne Anderson/gulflive.com

What cities are the most Bible-minded?

Barna, a California-based research company that focuses on faith and culture issues, teamed with the American Bible Society to determine the most Bible-minded cities in the U.S. "Bible-minded" was defined as the number of people who reported reading the Bible in the past week, as well as the percentage who strongly assert the Bible is accurate in the principles it teaches. Here is what they found:

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Frank Couch

First, the U.S. as a whole

Nationally, only 25 percent of the U.S. population is considered “Bible-minded.”

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Photo: Andrew Jameson

Most Bible-minded city in the U.S.

For the second year in a row, Chattanooga, Tenn. was ranked the most Bible-minded city in America. Chattanooga has held that title every year except one – 2015 – when it was runner up to Birmingham/Anniston and Tuscaloosa. Fifty percent of the people in Chattanooga were considered to be Bible-minded.

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Photo: Wikipedia

Alabama cities come in second

An Alabama metro region landed just behind Chattanooga on the list. With 49 percent considered Bible-minded, the second-place spot went to the Birmingham, Anniston and Tuscaloosa metro region.

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Photo: File

Top 5 most Bible-minded cities

Chattanooga, Tenn. – 50% Birmingham/Anniston/Tuscaloosa – 49% Roanoke/Lynchburg, Virginia– 48% Tri-Cities, Tenn. – 48% Shreveport, Louisiana – 47%

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Photo: Wikipedia

Rounding out the top 10

6. Charlotte, NC – 46%

7. Springfield, Missouri – 46%

8. Little Rock/Pine Bluff, Ark. - -44%

9. Knoxville, Tenn. - 44%

10. Greenville/Spartanburg/Anderson, SC, Asheville, NC – 44%

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The South rules

As the American Bible Association points out, when it comes to the Bible, the South rules. The top 10 most Bible-minded cities were all in the South, with the same top five – Chattanooga, Birmingham, Roanoke/Lynchburg, Tri-Cities and Shreveport also topping the list in 2016.

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Cameron Smith

Bible belief growing in some places

According to the American Bible Association, Springfield, Missouri and Jackson, Mississippi, experienced some of the greatest growth in the survey. Springfield moved up four spots, from 11 to 7, from 2016 to 2017, while Jackson moved from 15 to 12.

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Photo: Wikipedia

No. 13 most Bible-minded city in US

With 41 percent of the population considered Bible-minded, the 13th spot on the list went to the Huntsville/Decatur/Florence metro area.

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No. 28 most Bible-minded city in the US

Thirty-six percent of the people in Mobile said they read the Bible in the last week and considered it the accurate word of God. That’s high enough to land it at number 28 on the list.

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Photo: Wikipedia

The least Bible-minded city in America

The title of least-Bible minded city in America went to the Albany, Schenectady, Troy, New York area, where only 10 percent said they read the Bible at least once a week and were confident in its accuracy.

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Photo: Wikipedia

Five least Bible-minded cities

After Albany, Schenectady and Troy the five least Bible-minded areas were Boston, Massachusetts/Manchester, New Hampshire (11 percent); Providence, Rhode Island/New Bedford, Massachusetts (12 percent); Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Iowa (14 percent); and Buffalo, New York (14 percent).

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Photo: Wikipedia

Rounding out the top 10 least Bible-minded cities were:

Las Vegas – 14%

San Francisco/Oakland, San Jose, California -15%

Hartford/New Haven, Connecticut – 16%

Salt Lake City, Utah – 17%

New York – 17%

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Photo: Wikipedia

Least Bible-minded parts of the US

According to the American Bible Association, the northeast and southwest portions of the country are the least Bible-minded. For example, the percentage of people who said they were Bible-minded in Philadelphia dropped from 57th place to 69th place in the last year, with only 22 percent saying they read their Bible at least once a week and considered it the accurate word of God.

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Barna and American Bible Society

America's Bible-minded cities