Bible Belt (Norway)

The Norwegian Bible Belt, called bibelbeltet in Norwegian, is a loosely defined stretch of the southwestern coast of Norway where religious observance is stronger than in most of the country. It is usually taken to cover Western Norway and Southern Norway, including the counties of Rogaland, which is treated as the buckle of the belt, together with Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Møre og Romsdal and Agder. The area has a strong pietist and missionary tradition, opposed to the central authority of the State Church, and it is the base of the Christian People's Party. Sunday church attendance in Sørlandet is roughly one person in five, against under one in ten nationally. A smaller Little Bible Belt lies near the Swedish border in the southeast, around Rømskog, Marker and Aremark.