Religion Loses Ground in “the Bible Belt”

FOR over two centuries the southern part of the United States has been a bastion of conservative Protestant religious thinking. Baptists, Methodists and other “fundamentalist” religious groups have so dominated the area that it has come to be referred to as “the Bible Belt.”

But now the former solid front presented by the Southland’s churches is splintering. In 1971 only the Baptist Church, of these major religious bodies in the South, realized any membership gains. This was a nominal 1.2-percent increase, only one tenth of one percent over population growth. The 1972 increase was somewhat more impressive.

However, more than problems with membership rolls afflict southern churches. A former president of the Southern Baptist Convention told an evangelism conference that “a floodtide of paganism, hedonism and atheism threatens . . . the church.” The Austin (Texas) Statesman quotes him as saying: “At a time when the church faces its greatest challenge the church is its most anemic and sickliest. . . . We’re living to see the [Baptist] Church die before our very eyes.”

Observers of other denominations make similar expressions. Some feel that reviving the ‘dying’ church may be impossible. Preachers find themselves frustrated over religion’s dwindling influence in the South. Ken Forshee, pastor of the Highland Hills Christian Church in Oklahoma City, concluded, after interviewing ministers from twenty-five churches in that area:

“For every man I can point to receiving gratification from the ministry, three would leave the ministry if they had any idea of what they could do. This is one of the most critical issues of the church today.”

An associate of Forshee, Rex Vaughan, refers to “a great deal of desperation by clergy as well as laymen​—a lack of concrete vision and tools.”

But why this “lack of concrete vision,” loss of “gratification” and feeling of “desperation” in what has come to be considered the very heartland of U.S. fundamentalist religion? Because critical issues peculiar to southern U.S. churches face “the Bible Belt.” For example, there are the changes associated with racial integration. To understand its effect, one must briefly peer back into the history of the U.S. South.

Racial Issue Shakes “Bible Belt” Churches

IN THE early nineteenth century, churches of the same religious organization were to be found in both the North and the South. Black slavery, too, appeared in both sections of the country. But Negro slavery did not work out well in the North, where there was more concentration on commerce, manufacturing and westward expansion. In the South, however, where the cotton crop was the base of the economy, slavery provided cheap labor.

As the two sections of the country divided politically over the slavery question, they also separated religiously. Churches in the North condemned slavery as ‘unholy,’ while those in the South called it ‘holy.’ Southern religionists sought isolated Scripture texts to try to support the propriety of enforced black slavery. In 1844 the Methodist Church in the North and in the South split over the black slavery issue; the Baptists did the same a year later. Then, in 1862, the year the Civil War broke out, the Presbyterians divided right down the political Mason-Dixon line.

Churches of the South even involved themselves in the slavery business, according to E. M. Poteat, Jr., minister of the Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. He says: “Not only did Christian men hold slaves for the Glory of God, churches themselves frequently advanced the Kingdom of heaven by letting out for hire slaves who had become chattel property of the House of God.”

Negro slavery thus became firmly rooted in the South. It should not be forgotten, however, that, had black slavery been economically successful in the North, where it had earlier existed, churches there, no doubt, would have supported it as passionately as did their southern counterparts.

Post-Civil War Racial Bias

After the South lay in defeat at the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865, her clergymen, nevertheless, clung to what was uniquely their own​—“Bible Belt” Protestantism. “If we cannot gain our political, let us establish at least our mental independence,” a Methodist preacher in Mississippi insisted at the end of the Confederacy. The publication Southern White Protestantism in the Twentieth Century by K. K. Bailey says: “Southern leaders were convinced that the white religion of the South was of a purer form than that of the same denomination in the North.”

Slaves may have been legally freed after the Civil War, but the Negro remained socially ostracized. Extremists in the South upheld white supremacy! Even Methodist and Baptist preachers were enlisted into the dreaded Ku Klux Klan to harass emancipated Negroes. Most of the black population in the South was shackled with poverty and illiteracy for decades after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.

As a consequence, outcast blacks did not have enough education to read the Bible. Usually not welcome at the white churches, they began their own services, which, at first, consisted of little more than talking and singing. They made up their own songs, the ‘religious spirituals.’ Any sermon that was delivered was often no more than a Bible story that had been handed down from father to son and greatly embellished in the process.

But even if whites would have allowed the Negroes to join their churches, few would have obliged. As the author of the book Deep South says: “Since Christianity as personified by the Anglo-Saxon Baptist and Methodist was the only religion known to them, and that was so definitely associated with the white boss and landlord, there was fear that they would be compelled to spend eternity where the white-race-God would continue to force upon them the same cruelty and injustice they had always known.”

United States history shows that the Negro has wanted little to do with a white racist God. Most, instead, have preferred their own brand of fundamentalist religion.

Effects of Modern Changes on Southern Churches

Then, dramatically, in 1954, the whole complexion of events started changing in the South. The United States Supreme Court struck down school segregation. Since that time blacks have churned up “the Bible Belt.” Walls that enslaved black minds and spirits for a hundred years are crumbling and a college-bred generation of Negroes is emerging, speaking out and demanding equality with whites.

The old southern white-supremist religious arguments have lost their grip before the onrush of Federal legislation and nationally supported protest movements. Many people have forsaken the churches that formerly held racist views. However, in the radical changes of the past few years, black churches in the South have not been left unscathed.

Rather, black churches have become meeting places to organize protests and demonstrations. Black preachers, prominent in the fight for social justice, even seek political office all the way from city councilman to the Senate.

Further, the average Negro has become more materialistic as a result of the demands for equality. U.S. News & World Report says: “Black clergymen are sensing a rise in religious indifference among people for whom the black church was once a mainstay of life.” (September 25, 1972) True, many blacks in the South remain deeply religious and respect the Bible. But the sudden changes in the social and religious picture are causing a new mood to develop. As one white observed, the Negro in the South now “has little feeling of guilt if he should decide to abandon the church and become an agnostic or an atheist.”

The appearance of integration and the rise of black power have been instrumental in fundamentalist religion, “white” and “black,” losing ground in “the Bible Belt.” But what other factors have also served to drive wedges into the Southland’s heretofore solid religious front?

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THE BIBLE BELT

Biblical Ignorance Brings Further Losses

DURING the 1950’s American churches rapidly grew. Congregations swelled. New sects branched off from the main denominations. Nowhere was the rosy dream of ‘converting the world to the Kingdom of Christ’ rosier than in the “Bible Belt” region. But, beginning with the 1960’s, the heat went out of religion. In the South, as we have seen, many church members and ministers were sidetracked with concern over social and political issues.

But what about those who sincerely sought spiritual food in the churches? Did they find the Bible clearly taught as the Word of God and were they shown how it could be used as a guide for life? A clear answer comes from church leaders. For instance, former Southern Baptist Convention president Carl Bates admits: “We reared a generation of Baptists who are almost totally ignorant of our doctrine.” And Baptist Dr. K. L. Chafin says: “They don’t know how to articulate their beliefs.”

Why Biblical Ignorance Among Church Members?

But why are church members “almost totally ignorant” and unable to “articulate their beliefs,” which should be Bible-based? Could it be that the clergy have nothing substantial to offer their flocks from the Bible? Do the southern clergy really believe the Bible to be “inspired of God,” as did the apostle Paul?​—2 Tim. 3:16.

For one church’s answer, consider the twelve-volume Broadman Bible Commentary prepared by Baptist scholars. It casts such doubt on the authenticity of the Bible that its appearance has created a furor in Southern Baptist circles for several years. But, now, fewer and fewer churchmen challenge the commentary. Says the Christian Century regarding the 1972 Southern Baptist Convention business sessions:

“The issue that had threatened to provide the most ear-shattering bang at SBC deliberations​—the perennial inquisition involving the 12-volume ‘Broadman Bible Commentary’ and its editors—​went out with a whimper . . . [conservatives] introduced a resolution requesting the recall and rewriting of the work because of its inconsistency with Baptist belief in the absolute inerrancy of the Bible.”

Did most of the delegates favor rejecting a commentary that questions the Bible’s “absolute inerrancy“? Did they want it rewritten to show unquestionable support for the Bible? The report continues:

“The [delegates] refused by an overwhelming standing vote to endorse the withdrawal of the commentary . . . No head count was taken, but the resolution appeared to have been defeated by a 4 to 1 ratio.”

How can ordinary church members be expected to “know how to articulate their beliefs” if even the church’s leading members are divided on such fundamentals as “the absolute inerrancy of the Bible”? There are sure to be wide variations in belief as a result of doubt about the Scriptures’ role. But the uncertainty will not be limited to belief.

Christian conduct should be guided by the Bible. So, would there not also be doubt about what is proper as regards Christian action, conduct?

Yes. And the confusion that has resulted can be illustrated with a specific example. Two Southern Baptist ministers were asked by a Georgia public relations firm if political voting, military service, saluting national emblems, interfaith activities, patriotic ceremonies and supporting the UN made one a “part of the world.” One minister said “Yes” to every point in question. The other said “No” to each point. Yet one of the two pastors also noted on the questionnaire sent him that “God is not a god of confusion.”

True, God is not confused, nor is his Word, the Bible. But is there not obvious confusion among the clergy within the same Baptist denomination? The ordinary person will be no less confused. It is not surprising that many “almost totally ignorant” laymen are simply forsaking their churches.

Failure to adhere to the Biblical standard of conduct is also creating a divisive issue among “Bible Belt” Methodists. What issue is that?

Methodists and Homosexuality

The issue is homosexuality. The Bible clearly says: “Make no mistake . . . none who are guilty either of adultery or of homosexual perversion . . . will possess the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor. 6:9, New English Bible) Yet, when four Methodist ministers in the Atlanta area were asked if Bible principles are violated by homosexuality, only one said Yes!

In 1971 a periodical, The Texas Methodist, surveyed members of that church regarding homosexuality. In response to the question, “Do you believe a person can be both a Christian and a homosexual?” 41 percent of the total 533 responding said “Yes!” And 60 percent of the ministers said “Yes!” Some even referred to homosexuality as “natural.”

The divisive effect that the homosexuality issue has had on Methodist churches in the area is clearly observed in this letter from one older church member to The Texas Methodist: “I have been a Methodist for over seventy years and have never seen such filthy things as are going on in the Methodist Church, and which seem to be accepted by the leaders of our church. No wonder that so many members are leaving.”

Hypocrisy Turns Many in “the Bible Belt”

There is another reason why many​—especially younger people—​have turned from fundamentalist “Bible Belt” religions. What is that? An answer comes from Paul H. Johnson of the Martin Street Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina: “A lot of youngsters see Christians preaching one thing and practicing another.”

Strict requirements have long been imposed on most “Bible Belt” church members, forbidding them to smoke or drink alcoholic beverages. But have church people really believed these teachings? Well, over 90 percent of the United States’ huge tobacco crop still comes from the South. And Kentucky remains a leading American whiskey-producing state. Should today’s intelligent youngsters be expected to ignore such obvious inconsistencies? Hardly!

Nor can they overlook the hypocrisy within many of the “Bible Belt” churches themselves. A woman in Decatur, Georgia, says: “I was raised the daughter of a Baptist minister, which meant no makeup, no jewelry, no cards in the house, no dancing of any kind, no short hair on girls, no music on Sundays, and absolutely no tobacco or alcohol. Nearly everything was ‘no.’ By the time I was twelve or so I realized that everyone was saying one thing and actually living another. Most of all my father. He preached on Sunday against everything that he did all week.” Such hypocrisy is just one more cause for many to turn aside from the South’s churches.

Certainly, failing to believe the Bible by steadfastly adhering to its teachings has resulted in division, uncertainty and hypocrisy within the “Bible Belt” religious organizations. It has contributed to their loss in membership. Yet, many sincere people honestly ask if there is any sound spot at all in the religious picture in America’s “Bible Belt.”

Bible Truth Advances in “the Bible Belt”

THE one sign of spiritual health in “the Bible Belt” (and elsewhere in the world) was recently pointed to by Baptist Church historian Dr. H. L. McManus of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. He singled out Jehovah’s witnesses as due to become a ‘big denomination’ and called attention to their ‘phenomenal growth.’

Figures shown here, based on the work of Jehovah’s witnesses in fifteen states in the traditional “Bible Belt” region, reveal that, indeed, they have had, as Dr. McManus notes, a ‘phenomenal growth.’

Year: 1961 1971 1972

No. of JW’s: 70,926 101,032 120,425

Notice that the increase in one year, from 1971 to 1972, was almost two thirds what it had been in the ten-year period between 1961 and 1971. But why have they grown so vigorously? Consider the explanation offered in a sermon by another Baptist clergyman, C. Earl Cooper of the Riverside Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida:

“Witnesses believe the Bible . . . from beginning to the end, ‘not a part of it, but all of it.’ If you [Baptists] believed in your religion as much as they believe in theirs, if you persisted in the intelligent realism of your religion as much as they do in theirs, if the ten million Southern Baptists across this country believed in their religion the way Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in their religion, these Southern Baptists would turn North America upside down or upside up, right side up, but we don’t.”

Thousands of people have found that “Witnesses believe the Bible” and so have turned from fundamentalist churches where God’s Word is often given little more than lip service. Though many persons earnestly desired to understand the Bible and use it as a guide for their lives, it remained like a closed book to them until they contacted Jehovah’s witnesses.

For instance, a man in Columbia, South Carolina, contrasts fifty years in “Bible Belt” churches with what he learned by studying with the Witnesses: “As I studied with Jehovah’s witnesses I began to realize that in Sunday School [of my former church] we had the roll call, two collection plates were passed, the Bible was never opened or used. I just sat and listened and never learned anything from the Bible. When I attended the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s witnesses I heard a fine Bible talk, looking up many scriptures and really getting accurate knowledge and understanding.”

Of course, this man found that Jehovah’s witnesses not only learn about the Bible, but really believe it and live it. For instance, they do not pass “collection plates” or financially assess members of the congregation. Rather, they follow the Scriptural principle of voluntary giving as found at 2 Corinthians 9:7: “Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Truth About the Dead Attracts Many

Hundreds of persons who have been in the churches in the South and want to believe the Bible have been perplexed by the teaching of “hellfire.” For instance, a woman in Houma, Louisiana, reveals the frustration she once felt about the “hellfire” doctrine: “I had been taught that God was a God of love as stated at John 3:16, yet the church taught a burning hell. This just did not seem logical for a God of love. I had recently experienced the loss of a loved one in my family and was concerned about the condition of this person. I was thrilled to learn from the Bible the condition of the dead as well as the wonderful hope of a resurrection.” Yes, the simple Bible truth stated at Ecclesiastes 9:5, that ‘the dead are conscious of nothing at all,’ and are asleep in death awaiting a resurrection or return to life, appeals to honest-hearted persons, as it did to this woman. She knows now that a loving God does not torment persons eternally in a “hellfire.”

Another woman, in Daraville, Georgia, had lost her mother in death. She asked her Baptist minister if her mother (not a member of the minister’s church) was in “hellfire.” This woman, in recalling his attempts to answer, concluded: “Well, when I heard the ‘maybes’ and ‘I don’t knows,’ that was it. I finally realized that the man didn’t know anything about God’s Word the Bible. So I decided to forget the whole thing, the preacher, the church, everything.”

Sometime later Jehovah’s witnesses called on her. Now, not only her questions about the condition of the dead were answered, but she learned how the Bible assists the living. She says: “Now I’m learning the Christian way of life. Jehovah’s witnesses really have God as the Supreme Authority on all matters no matter how big or how small the problem. All the answers are in the Bible and now I’m finding them, with the hope of helping others like myself that haven’t been getting their questions answered from God’s Word.”

Biblical Morality Appeals

The genuine, unhypocritical standard of Biblical morality upheld by the organization of Jehovah’s witnesses has appealed to hundreds of persons.

Thus a man who had been a member of the board of trustees of a Baptist church in Louisiana recalls: “At a meeting of the trustees we were instructed by the assistant pastor to teach the teen-age boys how to commit fornication with the girls without getting them pregnant.” He quit the church.

Then what happened? He states: “My wife began studying with the Witnesses. She was impressed with their moral cleanness. I was invited to the meetings. I noticed right away the friendliness of the congregation. Then too I learned that the congregation disfellowships wrongdoers. I knew that here was the organization with very high moral standards.” This man has accepted the Bible’s standards of morality and is now one of Jehovah’s witnesses.

Bible Prophecy Interests Many

Other persons have thrilled to learn of the Bible’s prophecies. The Christian apostle Peter shows that Christians do well to ‘pay attention to the prophetic word.’​—2 Pet. 1:19.

But in most “Bible Belt” churches, prophecy is largely ignored. One “Church of Christ” minister in Georgia even refers to prophecy as ‘open to all sorts of subjective speculation.’

However, the current unparalleled conditions in the world are clearly understood only in the light of Bible prophecy. (See Matthew chapter 24; Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21.) Additionally, it is prophecy that reveals to the Christian the marvelous New Order of righteousness where God’s will shall be done on earth as in heaven. (Matt. 6:9; Rev. 21:1-4) Many persons are seeing that this hope is firmly held by the Christian witnesses of Jehovah because they believe the entire Word of God. Learning of that same hope, they, too, have become Witnesses.

As these few examples reveal, the Truth of God’s Word, taught by Jehovah’s witnesses, is spreading rapidly in “the Bible Belt,” as it is throughout the rest of the world.