The Holy Bible is often reported as the most widely read book in the world. But is this really the case? Does it ring true in our country? Our state? Our Hudson Valley?
Nope.
The American Bible Society, a group that works to spread the Christian message, and the Barna Group, a California-based research company, recently released a study of the 100 most “Bible-minded cities in America.” The data is based on the number of people living in certain cities who reported regularly reading the sacred text on their own, as well as their personal belief in its accuracy. The results pretty much reaffirmed stereotypes, with the South and Midwest emerging as the most “Christian” and the East Coast professing less belief. Cities with larger populations pay less attention to the Good Book than those with smaller ones.
So where do we fall on this list? Well, the 99th slot — or second least Bible-minded city — belongs to our state’s capital. Albany is actually one of only five New York cities to make the list: Buffalo, New York City, Syracuse, and Rochester took the number 95th, 89th, 86th, and 83rd spots, respectively. You can view the full findings here at www.americanbible.org/features/americas-most-bible-minded-cities.
Whether you’re a devout Bible reader or not, we think you’ll dig the cool backstories behind some of our area’s own religious groups.
