According to Charles Reagan Wilson, the role of The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture (1989) was “to shape national perceptions of the South” (xi). As a result of its publication, Southern studies rose to the forefront as a unique discipline. Now in its new edition, The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture maintains its original focus while updating and adding essays and shorter entries to reflect changes since its original publication. Whereas its predecessor consisted of one large volume, The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture is appearing in separate, shorter volumes on distinct topics; Religion , edited by Samuel S. Hill, Professor Emeritus of Religion at the University of Florida, is the first in the series. This new volume reflects the changing landscape of the South. Among notable changes since 1989 are an increase in Asian religions and philosophy, the growth of Islam, and the expansion of Catholicism in the South.
The structure of this edition follows the original: longer essays on thirty-six thematic issues ranging from “Appalachian Religion” to “Literature and Religion” to “South as Zion,” and thirty-four shorter informational and biographic entries ranging from “African Methodist Episcopal Churches” to “Billy Graham” and “James Henley Thornwell.” Hill introduces the volume with an overview of the defining characteristics of Southern religion, one of which is evangelical dominance. He maintains that belief centers on “‘four common convictions’--the Bible as authority, direct access to the Holy Spirit, traditional morality, and informal worship” (4). Tension exists, however, between Southerners who believe in traditional Christianity and those who find it that it no longer meets their needs (2). His introduction touches on many of the South’s dominant religions as well as on the ethnicity of their adherents. His topics, “The Distinctiveness of the South,” “The Black Church,” “Rituals,” “Religion and the Senses,” and “The Seriousness of Southern Religion,” provide the reader with a background that enhances the enjoyment and understanding of the essays and topics to follow. Since this new edition has added topics such as “Asian Religion,” “Latino Religion,” “New Age Religion,” “Islam,” “Native American Religion,” and “Social Activism,” this review will sample three of them to illustrate the volume.
Sam Britt, in his essay “Asian Religion,” traces the spread of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism throughout the South. He sees two distinct factors that led to the influx of Asian religion: the passage of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act and the gradual shift in the South from a large agrarian economy to a more industrial one (28). The Immigration Act allowed more people to enter the South and the rise of industry provided the necessary employment.
Britt notes that the majority of Asian worship-centers lie near interstates as a result of the settlement of the Asian population in cities and suburban areas (28). The practice of their belief systems also becomes a tool for the Asian Southerners. While Christian Southerners look to their membership in Christian communities as part of their identity, Indians are identifying themselves more as “Hindu” or “Buddhist” than they would have done in India (28). Because the religions differ so much from traditional Christian religion, interfaith groups have also arisen to create a community of understanding (29). Although Hinduism is essentially pluralistic, its focus on Brahman accentuates the monotheistic element wherein all the different forms of deity point to Brahman. Britt sees Hindus being more interested in coming together with their similarities than pulling apart because of their differences (30). On the other hand, Britt sees Buddhist Southerners as being more varied than the Hindu because of the “adaptability and resiliency of Buddhist teachings” and the presence of more “convert sites” (31). The mixing of cultures, however, creates a multicultural identity that Britt illustrates with a quotation from an Indian who stated on National Public Radio that he was “Indian by birth, American by choice, and Southern by the grace of God” (34).
Joel Martin, in his essay “Native American Religion,” emphasizes how Native Americans did not make a distinction between their religion and their daily lives--what they believed was a part of their daily lives. Consequently, the introduction of new elements into their lives, such as corn, had religious consequences (101). In time, different tribes absorbed elements of Christianity, though tribes responded differently to their contact with the religion. The Cherokees, for instance, believed that if one was truly Cherokee, one was also Christian. On the other hand, some tribes felt that it was improper to mix Christianity with “ancestral traditions” (100). Martin closes his article by saying how Indians survived living in the South and have managed to reach a degree of security and stability, even after experiencing severe hardships (104).
Ted Ownby undertakes the challenge of defining “New Age Religion.” In his essay, he traces the history of those persons dissatisfied with institutional religion, beginning in Britain in the 1960s. Americans, specifically the baby boomers, also embraced the New Age movement (104). He notes that the tension between New Age religion and traditional Christianity lies in the perception and improvement of self. Traditional, evangelical religion believes that God alone can change and improve us as humans, whereas the philosophy behind New Age groups holds that change comes from within--that it develops from self (105). Ownby traces the presence of New Age religion in the South through an online New Age directory. According to the directory, Florida has the most New Age centers, followed by North Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia.
For professionals, students, and the general reader, this volume offers a wealth of current information on a broad range of topics concerning the ever-changing religious currents in the South. Each article contains a relevant bibliography to facilitate further reading and research.
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[Review length: 956 words • Review posted on September 19, 2007]