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I keep reading in the various forums here on C-D that church life is extremely important in the South, that one's social life often revolves around church activities, and that people place great importance on going to church. To each their own, but to me, this is also vitally important and one of the things that I so love about the Southern culture and really feel is lacking in many parts of the North, or at least to the same degree as it is found in the South.
My dh, who is the son of Southern parents who moved North for a job in the mid-1950s, wants very much to move South in a couple of years for a variety of reasons. I think that would be wonderful, since to me, living in a place known as "The Bible Belt" sounds absolutely wonderful. Still, I'm wondering if the recent influx of Northerners who don't necessarily value religion in their lives are causing a shift in the way of thinking across the South, and if it is becoming less religious as a whole because of it. I would like to think that Northerners who move to the South don't try to mold it to fit their image, sort of a "Boston with palm trees", more or less, but I know that that probably isn't always the case.
So, I guess my question boils down to, if my dh wants us to move to a Southern city such as the outerlying areas of Atlanta metro or Charleston, will we still be able to find that Bible Belt culture, or is it being bleached out of the fabric of areas of the South that are seeing the greatest wave of Northern immigration? I know that it is still that way in the smaller towns, but I have also heard that those places aren't generally very open to Northern transplants (and understandably so), and I would hate to live somewhere where I wasn't accepted because my parents chose to raise me in Ohio.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
(Oh, and please overlook my typo. I realize it isn't "thransplants", but I was typing quickly on my way out the door.)
Last edited by canudigit; 03-29-2011 at 09:51 AM..
I keep reading in the various forums here on C-D that church life is extremely important in the South, that one's social life often revolves around church activities, and that people place great importance on going to church. To each their own, but to me, this is also vitally important and one of the things that I so love about the Southern culture and really feel is lacking in many parts of the North, or at least to the same degree as it is found in the South.
My dh, who is the son of Southern parents who moved North for a job in the mid-1950s, wants very much to move South in a couple of years for a variety of reasons. I think that would be wonderful, since to me, living in a place known as "The Bible Belt" sounds absolutely wonderful. Still, I'm wondering if the recent influx of Northerners who don't necessarily value religion in their lives are causing a shift in the way of thinking across the South, and if it is becoming less religious as a whole because of it. I would like to think that Northerners who move to the South don't try to mold it to fit their image, sort of a "Boston with palm trees", more or less, but I know that that probably isn't always the case.
So, I guess my question boils down to, if my dh wants us to move to a Southern city such as the outerlying areas of Atlanta metro or Charleston, will we still be able to find that Bible Belt culture, or is it being bleached out of the fabric of areas of the South that are seeing the greatest wave of Northern immigration? I know that it is still that way in the smaller towns, but I have also heard that those places aren't generally very open to Northern transplants (and understandably so), and I would hate to live somewhere where I wasn't accepted because my parents chose to raise me in Ohio.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
From my perspective; religion is big down here compared to the other parts of the country, but it's often exaggerated. I grew up in a religious family, but our life did not revolved religion, church and church activities.
So, I guess my question boils down to, if my dh wants us to move to a Southern city such as the outerlying areas of Atlanta metro or Charleston, will we still be able to find that Bible Belt culture, or is it being bleached out of the fabric of areas of the South that are seeing the greatest wave of Northern immigration?
Charleston, despite being named the "Holy City", was never really part of the bible belt to begin with. Not all of the south is the bible belt, that is a common misunderstanding. The coast has historically been the least religious part of the south, fragmented into many smaller denominations like Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Lutheran.
Bible Belt is used to describe the places that are mostly southern baptist, and evangelical. That is up toward the mountains. Greenville, SC is a much better example, with institutions like Bob Jones University. Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham, those guys are from the bible belt. You see it in the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina, north Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, etc.
Hi again - I don't think you'll be disappointed. One of the things that struck me when I first moved to Houston many years ago was how the topic of "church" made it into everyday conversation. For example, it was quite common to return to the office Monday morning and hear "Yesterday after church . . . " That said, I rarely found it raised in a proselytizing manner - just matter of fact. I appreciated this - I'm not particularly into religion at this time, but am not offended when the topic is raised. Another difference I found in Houston was that young folks were just as likely to raise their church activities as a topic of conversation as older people. I've found people outside the south to reference church much less in daily conversation. Considering this was my experience in a very large, diverse, Democratic city with many transplants, I can only imagine it becomes more part of the culture in smaller cities and towns.
Sounds like you are getting your mind around moving. Good luck
Hi again - I don't think you'll be disappointed. One of the things that struck me when I first moved to Houston many years ago was how the topic of "church" made it into everyday conversation. For example, it was quite common to return to the office Monday morning and hear "Yesterday after church . . . " That said, I rarely found it raised in a proselytizing manner - just matter of fact. I appreciated this - I'm not particularly into religion at this time, but am not offended when the topic is raised. Another difference I found in Houston was that young folks were just as likely to raise their church activities as a topic of conversation as older people. I've found people outside the south to reference church much less in daily conversation. Considering this was my experience in a very large, diverse, Democratic city with many transplants, I can only imagine it becomes more part of the culture in smaller cities and towns.
Sounds like you are getting your mind around moving. Good luck
I keep reading in the various forums here on C-D that church life is extremely important in the South, that one's social life often revolves around church activities, and that people place great importance on going to church. To each their own, but to me, this is also vitally important and one of the things that I so love about the Southern culture and really feel is lacking in many parts of the North, or at least to the same degree as it is found in the South.
My dh, who is the son of Southern parents who moved North for a job in the mid-1950s, wants very much to move South in a couple of years for a variety of reasons. I think that would be wonderful, since to me, living in a place known as "The Bible Belt" sounds absolutely wonderful. Still, I'm wondering if the recent influx of Northerners who don't necessarily value religion in their lives are causing a shift in the way of thinking across the South, and if it is becoming less religious as a whole because of it. I would like to think that Northerners who move to the South don't try to mold it to fit their image, sort of a "Boston with palm trees", more or less, but I know that that probably isn't always the case.
So, I guess my question boils down to, if my dh wants us to move to a Southern city such as the outerlying areas of Atlanta metro or Charleston, will we still be able to find that Bible Belt culture, or is it being bleached out of the fabric of areas of the South that are seeing the greatest wave of Northern immigration? I know that it is still that way in the smaller towns, but I have also heard that those places aren't generally very open to Northern transplants (and understandably so), and I would hate to live somewhere where I wasn't accepted because my parents chose to raise me in Ohio.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
(Oh, and please overlook my typo. I realize it isn't "thransplants", but I was typing quickly on my way out the door.)
I don't know if it's transplants changing the culture so much, but Southerners being enlighted by new scientific evidence. I'm native to Oklahoma and I used to be the biggest Bible thumper around. Now, I never attend church and have declared myself an atheist because the teachings of the church do not make sense to me. Now- to set your mind at ease- I am like a fish out of water around here. I don't really make it publically known what my true beliefs are because of the social implications that would have on me. Oklahoma is a VERY Christian state, as are most in the Southern region. I think that you will find many like-minded people just about anywhere in the South.
Where is this alleged "Boston with palm trees" and how can I get there?
BTW, There are hundreds of threads that discuss this topic. We probably don't need another.
My general opinion is that hear in the "north" we have had waves of immigrants from the south, as well as from everywhere else in the world. It didn't destroy "northern culture" (read: New England and/or Mid-Atlantic culture). I wouldn't worry too much. People move to the south because they at least like something about it (usually the temperature and the prices, but still...) so it won't be "Boston with palm trees" any time soon.
Where is this alleged "Boston with palm trees" and how can I get there?
BTW, There are hundreds of threads that discuss this topic. We probably don't need another.
My general opinion is that hear in the "north" we have had waves of immigrants from the south, as well as from everywhere else in the world. It didn't destroy "northern culture" (read: New England and/or Mid-Atlantic culture). I wouldn't worry too much. People move to the south because they at least like something about it (usually the temperature and the prices, but still...) so it won't be "Boston with palm trees" any time soon.
i disagree, i think it did.
new england culture at that time was mostly protestant anglo, and it became displaced by different groups, notably Catholic Irish and Catholic Italian.
Whether this was good or bad is beside the point, i'm just saying, it did occur.
Protestant Anglos in New England were not, by and large, displaced. They are still there, simply outnumbered by wave after wave of Catholic immigrants.
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