What is the Least Christian City in America?

By Nathan Glover --
12 Jul 2017 --

San Francisco is the 8th least Christian city, according to Barna.

A new poll measures Christianity in America.

The Barna Group, a research think tank focusing on faith and culture, has rated the top 50 American cities with the least amount of Christian influence. They used 16 metrics including self-identification as atheist and not attending church regularly.

What is the Least Christian City in America?[/tweetthis]

The least Christian city is Portland, Maine. Boston, New York City, and San Francisco are also in the top ten.

Barna uses the term “post-Christian” to describe the factors used in determining the Christianity level in each state. Their 16-point criteria go beyond just ticking off “Christian” to describe a person’s religion by actually qualifying their behavior, thoughts, and core identity. In their list of criteria, a “post-Christian” person is defined has meeting nine or more factors. A “Highly post-Christian” person meets 13 of the factors — which is nearly all of them.

Barna’s 16 “Post-Christian Metrics”

Do not believe in God
Identify as atheist or agnostic
Disagree that faith is important in their lives
Have not prayed to God (in the last week)
Have never made a commitment to Jesus
Disagree the Bible is accurate
Have not donated money to a church (in the last year)
Have not attended a Christian church (in the last 6 months)
Agree that Jesus committed sins
Do not feel a responsibility to “share their faith”
Have not read the Bible (in the last week)
Have not volunteered at church (in the last week)
Have not attended Sunday school (in the last week)
Have not attended religious small group (in the last week)
Bible engagement scale: low (have not read the Bible in the past week and disagree strongly or somewhat that the Bible is accurate)
Not Born Again

8 of the 10 least Christian cities are in the Northeast.[/tweetit] Many of the more Christian cities are located in the south, such as Shreveport, Louisiana, Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee. Many densely populated areas such as New York City (#7), San Francisco (#8), Los Angeles (#18), and Chicago (#19) rank higher on the list as post-Christian.