We are in the Bible Belt, and religion holds strong sway here. It is more open and, depending on your perspective, more in your face. It seems like every other radio station is a religious station. The Ten Commandments are in the county clerk’s office. Meetings frequently start with a prayer. Faith-based organizations are intimately involved in social welfare programs. Local country radio stations play real Christian Christmas songs. The Walmart greeter bids you a blessed day. I’m fairly certain that Madeline Murray O’Hare would have a nervous breakdown if she were alive and living in these parts, and those ridiculous groups that challenge every public display of faith would be in a perpetual apoplectic hissy fit.
As for me, the prominence of religious faith in local life is no skin off my back. It doesn’t offend me, and it shouldn't offend you. A prayer offered to someone’s version of God every now and then, regardless of whether it’s your God or whether you believe there is a God, certainly isn’t going to kill you. Lighten up for God's sake. Oops. Bad choice of words. I mean just lighten up.
I’d prefer that the prayer was in English just to make sure the person isn't asking to have seven plagues rain down on me. Beyond that caveat, I wouldn’t mind if a Muslim Imam offered up a prayer at the beginning of a meeting as long as he’s not wearing a dynamite vest and aiming a Kalashnikov my way. But if you’re one of those who are grossly offended by outward displays of faith, you better think twice about moving to Southern Appalachia
As you might expect, churches are a big deal around here. One website lists 85 churches in Fannin County, and I’m sure there are more. That’s a lot of churches in a county with less 25,000 inhabitants. I don’t have any figures but I venture to say that a majority of people in Fannin County attend church regularly. Sunday morning is absolutely dead around here. Either everyone is sleeping in or they are in church or maybe they are sleeping in church.
Aside from the religious function, churches perform an important social function around here. They are significant cogs in the social machinery of the community. The two quickest ways to meet people and integrate into the local community are to join a local civic club or service organization or start attending a local church.
If you attend a mainstream Christian church where you’re from, this is not going to be a big problem. Here in Fannin County all the major Christian denominations are represented either in the county or in nearby counties.
If you are not in the Christian mainstream, things may be a little tougher. If you belong to some obscure Christian sect you might have trouble finding a congregation. If you’re Jewish the bad news is that the nearest synagogue is 52 miles away. The good news is that it’s a scenic drive. If you’re Greek Orthodox the bad news is that the nearest church is over 60 miles from Blue Ridge and it’s not a scenic drive. If you’re Muslim the bad news is that the nearest mosque is in Atlanta, you’re living in Fannin County and your neighbors probably have an arsenal of weapons aimed at you this very minute. (I joke.)
If you belong to some religion that’s way out of the American mainstream like Santeria or Rastafarianism or to a religion popular in other parts of the world like Hinduism or Shintoism then you’re out of luck. To my knowledge there’s nothing like that around here. If you’re not doctrinaire in your beliefs you may want to try the Unitarian Universalist church in Ellijay just to the south of Fannin County. From what I understand, UUs claim they have no creed and gain insight from all religions. So maybe there's a place for you there. That leads to an interesting question: is there such a thing as a Unitarian Universalist heretic? Maybe UUs burn you at the stake if you believe in something. (I joke again.)
If you’re Baptist you’ve hit the jackpot here in Southern Appalachia. One website indicates that over 45 percent of the people in the county identify themselves as Baptist. When you drive around it seems like there is a small white-washed church on every rural road corner. Most of them are probably some variation of Baptist. It’s hard to tell with some because their names do not state what denomination they belong to. For example, there is a Mount Agony Church. It could be Baptist or simply a congregation of hemorrhoid sufferers. There’s another one called Uniquely You. For all I know it could be a congregation of reformed hair stylists.
Given the number of Baptists in the county I assume that most of the larger Baptist sects are represented here. Obviously, not all of the Baptists sects can be here since there are 211 different Baptist denominations according to one website. It’s hard to keep track of them and even harder to figure out what the difference is between them. You have Southern Baptists, Free-Will Baptists, Primitive or Hardshell Baptists, Missionary Baptists, Reformed Baptists, Full-Gospel Baptists and the list goes on and on. I think I passed one little church the other day that said it was a Left-Handed Baptist church. (That’s a joke.)
I repeat: I’m not saying you have to be religious or attend a local church to be involved in the Fannin County community but I’m sure it helps. I am saying that religion is more open and church attendance is more prevalent here than in most urban areas. If that offends you or you’re a militant atheist my advice is that you look elsewhere for your ultimate retirement destination. You might want to checkout Hell, Michigan, or Hell, California. At the very least you can get a t-shirt that say “I’ve been through Hell.”
As you might expect, churches are a big deal around here. One website lists 85 churches in Fannin County, and I’m sure there are more. That’s a lot of churches in a county with less 25,000 inhabitants. I don’t have any figures but I venture to say that a majority of people in Fannin County attend church regularly. Sunday morning is absolutely dead around here. Either everyone is sleeping in or they are in church or maybe they are sleeping in church.
Aside from the religious function, churches perform an important social function around here. They are significant cogs in the social machinery of the community. The two quickest ways to meet people and integrate into the local community are to join a local civic club or service organization or start attending a local church.
If you attend a mainstream Christian church where you’re from, this is not going to be a big problem. Here in Fannin County all the major Christian denominations are represented either in the county or in nearby counties.
If you are not in the Christian mainstream, things may be a little tougher. If you belong to some obscure Christian sect you might have trouble finding a congregation. If you’re Jewish the bad news is that the nearest synagogue is 52 miles away. The good news is that it’s a scenic drive. If you’re Greek Orthodox the bad news is that the nearest church is over 60 miles from Blue Ridge and it’s not a scenic drive. If you’re Muslim the bad news is that the nearest mosque is in Atlanta, you’re living in Fannin County and your neighbors probably have an arsenal of weapons aimed at you this very minute. (I joke.)
If you belong to some religion that’s way out of the American mainstream like Santeria or Rastafarianism or to a religion popular in other parts of the world like Hinduism or Shintoism then you’re out of luck. To my knowledge there’s nothing like that around here. If you’re not doctrinaire in your beliefs you may want to try the Unitarian Universalist church in Ellijay just to the south of Fannin County. From what I understand, UUs claim they have no creed and gain insight from all religions. So maybe there's a place for you there. That leads to an interesting question: is there such a thing as a Unitarian Universalist heretic? Maybe UUs burn you at the stake if you believe in something. (I joke again.)
If you’re Baptist you’ve hit the jackpot here in Southern Appalachia. One website indicates that over 45 percent of the people in the county identify themselves as Baptist. When you drive around it seems like there is a small white-washed church on every rural road corner. Most of them are probably some variation of Baptist. It’s hard to tell with some because their names do not state what denomination they belong to. For example, there is a Mount Agony Church. It could be Baptist or simply a congregation of hemorrhoid sufferers. There’s another one called Uniquely You. For all I know it could be a congregation of reformed hair stylists.
Given the number of Baptists in the county I assume that most of the larger Baptist sects are represented here. Obviously, not all of the Baptists sects can be here since there are 211 different Baptist denominations according to one website. It’s hard to keep track of them and even harder to figure out what the difference is between them. You have Southern Baptists, Free-Will Baptists, Primitive or Hardshell Baptists, Missionary Baptists, Reformed Baptists, Full-Gospel Baptists and the list goes on and on. I think I passed one little church the other day that said it was a Left-Handed Baptist church. (That’s a joke.)
I repeat: I’m not saying you have to be religious or attend a local church to be involved in the Fannin County community but I’m sure it helps. I am saying that religion is more open and church attendance is more prevalent here than in most urban areas. If that offends you or you’re a militant atheist my advice is that you look elsewhere for your ultimate retirement destination. You might want to checkout Hell, Michigan, or Hell, California. At the very least you can get a t-shirt that say “I’ve been through Hell.”
No comments:
Post a Comment