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A country church near Loyston, Tennessee in the 1930s
River baptism near Morehead, Kentucky, in 1940
Snake handling during Pentecostal worship in Harlan County, Kentucky, in the 1940s

Religion in Appalachia has attracted much interest from people outside Appalachia and is the subject of many stereotypes.[1]

Christianity has long been the region's main religion. Religion in Appalachia is characterized by a sense of independence and a distrust of religious hierarchies, both rooted in the evangelical tendencies of the region's pioneers, many of whom had been influenced by the "New Light" movement in England. Many of the religions brought from Europe underwent modifications or factioning during the Second Great Awakening (especially the holiness movement) in the early 19th century. A number of 18th and 19th-century religious traditions are still practiced in parts of Appalachia, including natural water (or "creek") baptism, rhythmically chanted preaching, congregational shouting, snake handling, and foot washing. While most church-goers in Appalachia attend fairly well organized churches affiliated with regional or national bodies, small unaffiliated congregations are not uncommon in rural mountain areas.[2][3]

Protestantism is the most dominant denomination in Appalachia, although there is a significant Roman Catholic presence in the northern half of the region and in urban areas. The region's early Lowland and Ulster Scot immigrants brought Presbyterianism to Appalachia, eventually organizing into bodies such as the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.[4] English Baptists—most of whom had been influenced by the Separate Baptist and Regular Baptist movements—were also common on the Appalachian frontier, and today are represented in the region by groups such as the Free Will Baptists, the Southern Baptists, Missionary Baptists, and "old-time" groups such as the United Baptists and Primitive Baptists.[3] Circuit riders such as Francis Asbury helped spread Methodism to Appalachia in the early 19th century, and today 9.2% of the region's population is Methodist, represented by such bodies as the United Methodist Church, the Free Methodist Church, and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.[5] Pentecostal movements, the region's fasted-growing denomination,[6] within the region include the Church of God (based in Cleveland, Tennessee) and the Assemblies of God.[7] Scattered Mennonite colonies exist throughout the region.[8]

Hinduism became a presence in Appalachia during the second half of the 20th century. Hindu immigrants to the region are found primarily in the larger cities. Many immigrant Hindus do not actively practice their religion, but participate in cultural activities at the Hindu temples and cultural centers that have been established in cities including Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Charleston, West Virginia. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishna movement) has been present in Appalachia since 1968. It operates farming communes in Port Royal, Pennsylvania, and Moundsville, West Virginia, as well as small centers in communities including Pittsburgh; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Mulberry, Tennessee. Followers of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi maintain a mountain resort and Transcendental Meditation training center on a 7,000-acre (2,800 ha) site near Boone, North Carolina. [9]

Interaction of religion with political life

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Appalachian religion is credited as a significant factor in the success of labor union organizing in the West Virginia and Kentucky coalfields in the 1920s and 1930s.[10][11]

More recently, Christian religious perspectives have played a prominent role in public debate over mountaintop removal mining for coal in central and southern Appalachia. Opponents of mountain-top removal mining have attacked the practice on religious grounds, saying it is destructive of God's creation, which believers have a duty to protect. Local churches have been prominent in opposition to the coal industry and several Protestant denominations have issued formal policy statements against mountaintop removal.[12][13][14] The alliance of evangelical Christians with environmentalists to oppose mountaintop mining was one topic in the 2008 documentary Renewal.[15] Coal-mining interests counter with their own religious arguments. They have said that God put coal in the mountains to benefit man, to whom God granted dominion over the earth.[13][14] The Kentucky Coal Association quotes the Book of Isaiah in support of mountaintop mining: "Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; The rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed..."[16]

References

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  1. ^ "Old-Time Religion". Encyclopedia of Appalachia. University of Tennessee Press. 2006.
  2. ^ Howard Dorgan, Introduction to the "Religion" section, Encyclopedia of Appalachia (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), pp. 1281–1289.
  3. ^ a b Clifford Grammich, "Baptists, the Old-Time Groups." Encyclopedia of Appalachia (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee, 2006), pp. 1298–1300.
  4. ^ Conrad Ostwalt, "Presbyterian, Denominational Family." Encyclopedia of Appalachia (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), pp. 1342–1344.
  5. ^ Heather Ann Ackley Bean, "Methodists." Encyclopedia of Appalachia (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), pp. 1330–1332.
  6. ^ Richard Drake, A History of Appalachia (Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2001), p. 226.
  7. ^ Stanley Burgess, Patrick Alexander, and Gary McGee, "Pentecostals." Encyclopedia of Appalachia (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), pp. 1336–1339.
  8. ^ Harvey Neufeldt, "Mennonites." Encyclopedia of Appalachia (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), pp. 1327–1329.
  9. ^ "Hindu Families and Communities". Encyclopedia of Appalachia.
  10. ^ Billings, Dwight B. (1990). "Religion as Opposition: A Gramscian Analysis". American Journal of Sociology. 96: 1–31. JSTOR 2780691.
  11. ^ Pyle, Ralph E.; Davidson, James D. William H. Swatos, Jr. (ed.). "Stratification". Encyclopedia of Religion and Society. Hartford Institute for Religion Research, Hartford Seminary.
  12. ^ Morford, Stacy (March 26, 2009). "Religion's View from Appalachia: Only God Should Move Mountains". InsideClimate News.
  13. ^ a b "Mountaintop Removal Mining". Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. PBS. February 7, 2007.
  14. ^ a b Smith, Peter (December 20, 2009). "Religion shaping mountain-top removal debate in Appalachia coal country". Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky.
  15. ^ "Renewal Project – About the Film". The Renewal Project. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  16. ^ "Mountain Top Mining Issues & Responses". Kentucky Coal Association. Retrieved September 26, 2013.

Further reading

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  • Callahan, Richard J. 2009. Work and Faith in the Kentucky Coal Fields: Subject to Dust. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-25335-237-8
  • Dorgan, C. Howard. 1987. Giving Glory To God in Appalachia: Worship Practices of Six Baptist Subdenominations. University of Tennessee Press.
  • Dorgan, C. Howard. 1989. The Old Regular Baptists of Central Appalachia: Brothers and Sisters in Hope. University of Tennessee Press.
  • Dorgan, C. Howard. 1993. Airwaves of Zion: Radio Religion In Appalachia. University of Tennessee Press.
  • Dorgan, C. Howard. 1997. In the Hands of a Happy God: The “No Hellers” of Central Appalachia. University of Tennessee Press.
  • Leonard, Bill J., ed. 1999. Christianity in Appalachia: Profiles in Regional Pluralism. University of Tennessee Press.
  • McCauley, Deborah Vansau. 1995. Appalachian Mountain Religion: A History. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0252064142.
  • Sparks, Elder John. 2001. The Roots of Appalachian Christianity: The Life and Legacy of Elder Shubal Stearns. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-9128-7
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