Carolina Piedmont Country

10. Religion and Religious Ceremonies

C H A P T E R 10 Religion and ReligiousCeremonies As one of the fundamental roots of the area's system of values, and as one of the principal forces justifying numerous social activities, religion plays a substantial role in shaping the folklife of the Carolina Piedmont. Predominantly conservative Protestant, the area's denominations support invaluable relief organizations for communities and provide important (formerly significant) types of social recreation on Sundaysand during annualrevivals . Church services also present a means to pass on and to enjoy spirituals and "old-timey" hymns. Despite the intrusions of Sunday football games and lake boating, religion and its expression still form a critical part of the lives of Upstate residents. Church and Community As discussed in chapter 4, a fundamentalist faith has influenced Piedmont social life for generations. Robert Chambers described the weekly round of church activities from his youth, characterizing his family as "focused around church." The week began with Sunday morning church services conducted by the preacher, followed by Sunday dinner and resting, including only quiet play by children. Then everyonewent to Sundayevening services, again led by the preacher. On Wednesday night, Mr. Chambers continued, "was what's called prayer meeting. And that wasnot led by the preacher." Instead, laymenwouldguide the congregation in prayer and singing, others would request prayers, and then would come "testimony," where "everybody got up, just impromptu, and gave their thoughts." Today, "churches are still very big in the South—very big," Patricia Vaughn asserted, and their hold over Upstate lives remains strong but sub145 146 Carolina Piedmont Country tie. From the blue laws limiting alcohol sales and Sundayshopping to the prayers that open high school and collegiate games to community festivals (like Hammondville's) that shut down for the Lord's Day, fundamentalism pervades the Piedmont. Common knowledge in the region is the fact that community groups, from Girl Scouts to city councils to extension demonstrations , avoid Wednesday nights, still reserved for prayer meetings. Several informants,both in the past and present, noted (sometimes with irony) the fact that the Upstate simultaneously may be home to both the redneck and the fundamentalist. Joseph Stewart discussed this with his WPA interviewer: "'Society had a distinct cleavage. There wasa religious crowd who took things seriously and went to church every time the church had anything going on.9 "This group, Stewart continued, established temperance societies and attended revivals. Their preachers thundered fire and brimstone against card playing, dancing, gambling "'and many innocent amusements that is considered all right nowadays.' "Both perceptions persist side by side in the Piedmont: the rugged individualist subtly avoiding the lawof the land and the reserved fundamentalist strictly obedient to the Law of the Lord. Denominations Generally speaking, as James Edwards noted: "Most of the time back then youhad ... four denominations: youhad the Baptists, and the Methodists , and Wesleyan, and the Presbyterians, ordinarily. And maybe Church of God. So maybe five. You'd have within maybe a ten- or fifteenmile radius five different churches, or five different denominations." The South Carolina state guidebook reported that about half of all South Carolinians were Baptists, with another one fourth Methodists. These figures approximate denominational membership today too. Ben Robertson suggested that the deeply rooted predominance of the Baptist faith reflected a fundamental Upstate value: "The Baptist faith was a personal faith, Baptist prayers floated upward from the individual heart, and Baptists were responsible alone for their individual souls—Baptists belonged to a strong, lonesome religion, and the power of the church depended on the individual strength of our faith, on personal expression." All of these Piedmont denominations, whilerepresentative of the general regional attitudes toward God and associated morality, nevertheless have remained in various stages of uneasy coexistence over the past century. Residents have long recognized subtle differencesbetween the sects, not as much in theology but more so in sociology. That is, for each group, the creeds and regulations have often been of less importance than the place- Religion and Religious Ceremonies 147 ment of each church in the social hierarchy. Informants in Kent explained the difference to Ralph Patrick: "The Methodists take 'em out ofthe gutter ; the Baptists wash 'em up; the Presbyterians educate 'em; and the Episcopalians introduce 'em to society.' " Another man in Kent joked to Patrick : "'Methodists areBaptists whocanread. Presbyterians are Methodists with backgrounds. And Episcopalians are Presbyterians with money.'" Implicit in these assumptions are both a folk summary of episcopal epistemologies...