Religion in the South is pervasive, a key factor in the culture. Since the early 19th century, evangelical Protestant groups have dominated religious life here, although we are a diverse bunch with Catholics, Jews, and Pentecostals all mixed in, too. We tend to be more theologically conservative than other regions of the nation. In the South it is generally accepted that the Bible is in the inerrant Word of God and the sole reference point if belief and practice; that direct and dynamic access to the Holy Spirit is available to all; that morality is defined primarily in individualistic and interpersonal terms; and worship is generally informal.
“The faith of black Christians in the South is both very similar to that of the white Christians and quite distinctive from it.” The two main rituals of Protestant Christianity, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, reveal the South as a distinctive religious setting. Independent Christian churches do the landscape, and small rural churches are common. The South is steeped in Protestant Christianity.
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“The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture-Volume 2: Geography “. Richard Pillsbury, volume editor (University of North Carolina Press)
The South has seen tumultuous changes in the last three decades, after being somewhat isolated from American mainstream for over a century. This isolation allowed the South to develop a distinct style, culture, and worldview. The 1930s began a great Diaspora as African-American workers went north in search of jobs and better living conditions. The Post-WWII economic expansion brought new people South. The migration of millions of “Yankees” to the South, especially to the beach areas in Florida and Carolina coasts, and immigrants from Hispanic nations, have changed the old way of doing things. Cities have exploded in size and importance.
The South is divided into five provinces: the Peidmont, along the eastern edge of the Appalachians; the Blue Ridge, extending southward in to the Smoky Mountains; the Lowland South; the Coastal Plain; the Mississippi Delta; and then, there’s Florida.
Distinctive features include Courthouse squares, rural agriculture, tourist areas near the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, timber and hunting, and friendly attitude!
(Repeat title, author and publisher.) I’m Doc Kirby and that’s a Book Bit.
**Book Bit for WTBF-AM/FM, Troy, AL air date 4/9/11
“The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture-Volume 5: Language”, Michael Montgomery & Ellen Johnson, volume editors (University of North Carolina Press)
(Repeat title, author and publisher.) I’m Doc Kirby and that’s a Book Bit.
On The Bookshelf 