# Jesusland > Jesusland is a 2004 satirical map meme splitting North America into "The United States of Canada" (blue states) and "Jesusland" (red states), created after George W. Bush's re-election. Jesusland is a satirical map meme created on November 3, 2004, the day after George W. Bush won re-election, splitting the United States and Canada into two fictional nations: "The United States of Canada" (liberal blue states merged with Canada) and "Jesusland" (the remaining conservative red states)[1]. The New York Times called it "an instant Internet classic" just weeks after it appeared[2]. The map keeps resurfacing during politically charged moments, most recently trending on Twitter in February 2021 after Gab CEO Andrew Torba posted it[4]. ## Origin On November 3, 2004, one day after Bush defeated John Kerry, a forum user named G. Webb posted the map in a thread titled "I've solved it! Now the Jesusland watch thread" on YakYak, an internet message board dedicated to fans of British video game designer Jeff Minter[6]. The post was meant to explain (sarcastically) why Bush had won[5]. The map split neatly along the 2004 electoral map lines, with Kerry-voting states joining Canada and Bush-voting states forming Jesusland. That same day, the map appeared on the personal blog Slapnose[6]. By November 4th, it had spread to political blogs including Politics on About.com, Uncyclopedia, and Flickr[6]. The first Urban Dictionary definition of "Jesusland" also went up on November 4th[8]. The speed was remarkable: a map cooked up on a niche gaming forum reached major political blogs within 24 hours. - **Platform:** YakYak forum (original post), political blogs and forums (viral spread) - **Creator:** G. Webb (original poster on YakYak forum) - **Date:** 2004 ## Overview The Jesusland meme takes the form of a redrawn map of North America with a new border slicing through the United States. The "blue states" from the 2004 presidential election (New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific coast, and the Great Lakes states of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) are merged with Canada to form a single nation labeled "The United States of Canada"[1]. Everything else, the "red states," gets the name "Jesusland." Some versions also lump in the Canadian province of Alberta due to its conservative politics[1]. The humor is blunt: liberal Americans would rather join Canada than live under four more years of Bush, and the conservative heartland is reduced to a theocratic caricature. The Freakonomics blog said the map captured the "despair, division, and bitterness" of the 2004 election campaign[1]. Slate noted it may have been why the Canadian immigration website got six times its usual traffic the day after the election[1]. ## How It Spread The Jesusland map moved through the internet in waves. During late 2004, it circulated on Canadian blog Cool.ca, community platform Tribe, conservative forum Free Republic, and San Francisco Weekly[6]. Partisan blogs from both left and right referenced it heavily through 2004 and 2005. On Free Republic, conservative commenters mocked the map while simultaneously discussing what a divided America might look like[10]. By December 2004, The New York Times published a piece titled "Neo-Secessionism" that referenced the Jesusland map alongside real discussions about blue-state secession, calling it "an instant Internet classic"[2]. The article compared post-2004 frustration to the Hartford Convention of 1814, when New England states toyed with secession from the Union[2]. The meme inspired real creative work. In April 2005, indie musician Ben Folds released "Jesusland" as a track on his album *Songs for Silverman*[6]. In July 2005, punk band NOFX put out a 7-inch single called "Leaving Jesusland," later included on their 2006 album *Wolves in Wolves' Clothing*[6]. Both songs channeled the same sense of blue-state alienation that made the map click. Internet users also created their own versions of the map, adding extra countries and borders. The LA Times ran opinion pieces referencing the concept in 2011, debating whether Christian politicians represented a "Jesusland" mentality[11]. The New York Times Freakonomics blog also referenced the meme in the late 2000s[6]. In December 2009, Saturday Night Live aired an animated TV Funhouse short called "Blue State Santa," where Santa skips houses in red states that voted for Bush. During the sketch, he holds up a map resembling the original Jesusland image but labeled "Dumb****istan"[6]. ## How to Use The Jesusland map is typically shared as-is during politically charged moments, especially elections. The standard use is: 1. Wait for a political event that highlights the American liberal/conservative divide (an election, a Supreme Court decision, a culture war flashpoint). 2. Post the original Jesusland map or a modified version. 3. Add commentary expressing either wish fulfillment ("I'd move to the United States of Canada") or mockery ("welcome to Jesusland"). ## Cultural Impact The Jesusland meme's reach extended well beyond internet forums. The New York Times covered it within weeks of its creation, framing it alongside real secessionist movements in American history[2]. The LA Times published opinion columns debating the "Jesusland" framing of conservative Christianity in American politics[11]. The map inspired two commercially released songs: Ben Folds' "Jesusland" (2005) and NOFX's "Leaving Jesusland" (2005/2006)[6]. Saturday Night Live's "Blue State Santa" animated short in 2009 used a nearly identical map concept, proving the meme had penetrated mainstream comedy[6]. Big Think's "Strange Maps" column featured it as one of its notable entries, calling it "the meme that captured the 2004 post-election blues"[3]. The map also drove measurable traffic to government websites: Slate reported that Canada's immigration site received six times its normal page views the day after the 2004 election[1]. In 2021, the Gab CEO's reposting showed the map still carried political charge 17 years after its creation[4]. Multiple news outlets covered the Twitter trend, and the Forward ran a full satirical analysis of Jesusland's geopolitical viability[7]. ## Fun Facts - The meme originated on a forum for fans of Jeff Minter, a British game designer known for psychedelic shoot-em-ups featuring llamas and camels. Nothing about the forum suggested it would birth a political meme[6]. - Journalist Julia Scheeres reported seeing a "Jesus Land" sign in rural Indiana in the 1970s, decades before the internet meme existed[6]. - One of the most thoughtful responses to the meme came from an anonymous Canadian on Cool.ca, who helpfully explained that "Canada's main enemies are the U.S. (now Jesusland) and Denmark"[9]. - The term "Jesusland" also loosely overlaps with the Bible Belt, a region where evangelical Protestantism heavily influences politics and culture, though the meme's boundaries are based on electoral maps, not church attendance data[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Jesusland? Jesusland is a satirical internet map meme that divides North America into two fictional countries: "The United States of Canada" (blue/liberal states merged with Canada) and "Jesusland" (the remaining conservative red states). It was created after the 2004 US presidential election[1]. ### Where did Jesusland come from? The map was first posted on November 3, 2004, by a user named G. Webb on YakYak, an internet forum for fans of video game designer Jeff Minter[6]. It spread to political blogs and news sites within days. ### What does Jesusland mean? The name "Jesusland" satirizes the perceived influence of Christian fundamentalism on Republican-voting states, implying those regions are more like a theocracy than a modern democracy[1]. The counterpart, "The United States of Canada," suggests liberal states have more in common with Canada than with their own country. ### How do you use Jesusland? People typically share the Jesusland map during elections or political controversies to highlight the American liberal/conservative divide. It's posted with commentary expressing frustration, humor, or fantasy about splitting the country[5]. ### Is Jesusland still popular? The meme resurfaces during politically charged moments. It most recently trended on Twitter in February 2021 when Gab CEO Andrew Torba posted it, triggering widespread reactions[4]. ### Who created the Jesusland map? G. Webb, a poster on YakYak forum, created and posted the map on November 3, 2004, the day after the presidential election[6]. ### What songs reference Jesusland? Ben Folds released a track called "Jesusland" on his 2005 album *Songs for Silverman*, and NOFX released a 7-inch single titled "Leaving Jesusland" in July 2005[6]. ### Did Saturday Night Live use the Jesusland map? Yes. In December 2009, SNL aired an animated TV Funhouse sketch called "Blue State Santa" featuring a similar map labeled "Dumb****istan"[6]. ### Why did Jesusland trend in 2021? Gab CEO Andrew Torba posted the map on his platform on February 23, 2021. Twitter user PatriotTakes retweeted it, and "Jesusland" trended nationally as users debated its implications[4]. ### What is the United States of Canada? It's the other half of the Jesusland map. The blue states from the 2004 election (New England, Mid-Atlantic, Pacific coast, Great Lakes states) are merged with Canada to form a nation of over 170 million people[1]. ### Is the Jesusland map based on real electoral data? Yes. The boundaries follow the 2004 electoral map, with states that voted for Kerry (Democrat) joining Canada and states that voted for Bush (Republican) forming Jesusland[3]. ### What criticism has the Jesusland map received? Critics point out it erases millions of liberal, Black, Brown, and Indigenous people living in red states, and that the real political divide is urban vs. rural, not state vs. state[2][4]. ## References 1. [Neo-Secessionism - The New York Times]() 2. [United States of Canada vs. Jesusland - Big Think]() 3. [What is Jesusland? Gab CEO Andrew Torba posts hypothetical US map, Internet says 'even Jesus won't be welcome']() 4. [Jesusland - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Jesusland map]() 6. [Jesusland - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [Red states and blue states]() 8. [Bible Belt]() 9. [Jeff Minter]() 10. [Urban Dictionary: jesusland]() 11. [‘Jesusland’ isn’t good for the Jews, but is for bagels]() 12. [Why is the "Jesusland" graphic trending on Twitter again? – Film Daily]() 13. [Neo-Secessionism - The New York Times]() 14. [The Case for “Jesusland” – The Patriot Axe Message]() 15. [Opinion: The United States of 'Jesusland'? - Los Angeles Times]() 16. [The Jesusland map A worrying farce... will history repeat with U.S. Civil War?]() 17. [Ideas Are Immortal - Big Think]() 18. [No, Canada! (United States of Canada vs. Jesusland)]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/jesusland Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library