Informally, the
Bible Belt is a region in the southeastern and south-central United States in which socially conservative
evangelical Protestantism plays a strong role in society and politics, and Christian
church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's average. The Bible Belt consists of much of the Southern United States as well as parts of adjacent areas. During the
colonial period (1607–1776), the South was a stronghold of the
Anglican church. Its transition to a stronghold of non-Anglican Protestantism occurred gradually over the next century as a series of religious revival movements, many associated with the Baptist denomination, gained great popularity in the region.