Art Thou In The Bible Belt?

There have been endless e-mails in my little in-box asking "am I in the Bible Belt?". Well, I will help you figure that out with this page.
First off, the Bible Belt isn't a geographic location. It's just the name people give highly Christian areas. The Bible belt does have one trait of geographic nature. That trait is the fact that the Bible belt runs through the south, and then backs up and runs over it again.
I live in the Bible Belt. So to help you figure out if you are in the Bible belt, I'll tell you about some of the things around here that clued me in to the fact that Panama City is right in the middle of the Bible Belt.
  • The most common churches are as follows
    1. Pentecostal
    2. Baptist
    3. Assembly of God
    4. Non-Denominational (Commonly Called "Church of Christ" or "Bible Believer's House of Prayer")

  • There are people who have make shift signs in their front yards with bible scriptures on them, and they change them regularly. (See Example)

  • There are ads in your local papers for Jesus. Not any church in particular. Just Jesus. See Example

  • There are big, commercial size billboards for Jesus. Sometimes with words spelled wrong. My favorite local ones are "Jesus is the Anwer" and "Revivel To Nite"

  • Churches out number a lot of important businesses. Here are some examples from my local yellow pages.
    Churches - 10 pages
    Condominiums - 5 pages (I live in a beach resort area)
    Contractors - 6 pages
    Dentists - 8 pages
     I think you see the trend

  • The local government is run by Christians who admit that they are going to use Christianity as part of their job in office.
    A local commishioner ran an ad at election time with top 10 reasons he should be elected. Number 1 was "I'm a christian"

  • You see at least 5 Jesus Fish a day

  • You see road signs with tons of church signs attached to it.See Picture

  • The only shows on the local access channel is live church broadcasts

  • Pastors are among the highest paid in the area.
    The Average pay here is $19,000 a year, the average pastor makes from $30,000-75,000 per year.