Madison ranks #88 in a just released list of Bible reading amongst the top 100 cities in the U.S. The list is published by Barna Research and the American Bible Society.
The most Bible-minded city in the U.S. is Chattanooga, TN, with the highest percentage of people “who report reading the Bible in a typical week and who strongly assert the Bible is accurate in the principles it teaches.”
All of the top cities are in the Bible belt, the southeastern U.S., until #20, which is Grand Rapids, MI. All of the five lowest ranking cities are in the Northeast, except for Cedar Rapids, IA, which ranks #97.
Madison, at #88, ranks just between Washington D.C. (#87) and New York City (#90). It lags behind Green Bay/Appleton (#59) and Milwaukee (#64).
Four years ago, the last time we looked at these statistics, Madison was 75th, Green Bay was 78th and Milwaukee was 82nd. Green Bay and Milwaukee have jumped up on the list, while Madison has slipped.