Devotion in Dixie and beyond: A Test of the "Shibley Thesis" on the Effects of Regional Origin and Migration on Individual Religiosity

Abstract

This article examines the relative prominence of religion in the American South, in light of two contemporary phenomena: increased interregional mobility in the United States, and the rise of American evangelicalism. We investigate the effects of regional migration and non-migration on church attendance and importance of faith in the South as compared to the rest of the country. Results show that religiosity increases when people move to a region of high religious commitment, and decreases when one moves to an area where religious commitment is lower. The evidence suggests that the South maintains its religious distinctiveness for natives, but the prospects of maintaining as strong a religiosity for those who migrate out of the South are low. These findings call into question Mark Shibley's thesis (1996) about the sources of the resurgence of American evangelicalism.