The Bible Belt’s Dirty Little Secret
If you live in the South, you know it is known for football, iced tea, fried chicken and politeness. It is also known as the Bible Belt. Home to some of the largest churches in America. Unfortunately, this well known area of evangelicals and conservatives, has a dirty little secret. According to the CDC, the South is the hotbed for STD’s. You might think that this is a problem among the poor, but guess again. Many colleges in the South have very high STD rates. According to the CDC there are 20 million new cases a year, meaning that there are 54,000 new cases per day. (1) Half of all the new cases are found in young adults and students ages 15-24.
The top 4 states for contracting STD’s are in order:
1. Louisiana
2. Mississippi
3. Georgia
4. Alabama
For a complete list, see Fox News State by State Where It’s Easiest to Avoid or Catch STD’s.
You might be surprised that University of Alabama ranks #7 and Auburn University ranks #6 for colleges with the highest STD rates. (2)
I was shocked when I found these results today on the internet. This is what happens when the government removes prayer from schools and the 10 commandments from the courtrooms. America has decided that we want a nation without God. This is what happens when we abandon God. We teach abstinence, but we don’t give a reason why. People do not want to accept God in their lives, because they don’t want to be told what to do. A nation without God is full of murders, rapes, abortions and STD’s. Many Christians will take a stand against abortion, but we need to take a stand against fornication (sex before marriage). Abortion is a symptom of the sin of fornication.
We as Christians, that’s right the silent majority, should blame ourselves for this epidemic problem. We sit silently and allow our religious freedoms to disappear. Our preachers are silent against sin, especially fornication and adultery. According to George Barna, only 2% of Christians share their faith. How is the United States going to be won to the Lord with so few sharing their faith with the lost.
We cannot expect the lost to come to church to be saved. 70% of the millennial generation has left the church. If we want to win the lost in the culture we live in, we are going to have to go into the marketplace like the disciples did. We cannot be silent about our faith any longer. It is time that the church go into all the world, including America, and preach the gospel.
Prayer In Every City 
I’ve been in the Bible Belt for a little over a year now, it seems there is a big problem with people being cultural Christians more than Biblical Christians which is another issue in itself.
Stephanie, thank you for visiting my blog. I agree with you. In the South, there are many people who go to church who live far from the Lord during the week. We need revival in our churches.