Then we mix it into a spiritual succotash. More than other places, it pushed into everyday life, mixing faith with politics, education and football. Many of those distinctives remain. Denominational loyalty still matters in the South, one panelist argued. Jesus is regularly quoted in letters to the editor.
Churches still flex public muscle against the lottery and abortion.
But others detect cracks in the wall and anxiety about the erosion of born-again power. We used to make fun of the mainstream churches when they had that growth rate. In Baptist stronghold Alabama, he said, one-fifth of the state's 3,100 churches didn't baptize anybody last year. But we have churches now that are embarrassed even to put the denomination's name on the sign. So did tithes and offerings.