In this fresh and fascinating chronicle of Christianity in the contemporary South, historian and minister James Hudnut-Beumler draws on extensive interviews and his own personal journeys throughout the region over the past decade to present a comprehensive portrait of the South's long-dominant religion. Hudnut-Beumler traveled to both rural and urban communities, listening to the faithful talk about their lives and beliefs. What he heard pushes hard against prevailing notions of southern Christianity as an evangelical Protestant monolith so predominant as to be unremarkable. True, outside of a few spots, no non-Christian group forms more than six-tenths of one percent of a state's population in what Hudnut-Beumler calls the Now South. Drilling deeper, however, he discovers an unexpected, blossoming diversity in theology, practice, and outlook among southern Christians. He finds, alongside traditional Baptists, black and white, growing numbers of Christians exemplifying changes that no one could have predicted even just forty years ago, from congregations of LGBT-supportive evangelicals and Spanish-language church services to a Christian homeschooling movement so robust in some places that it may rival public education in terms of acceptance. He also finds sharp struggles and political divisions among those trying to reconcile such Christian values as morality and forgiveness-the aftermath of the mass shooting at Charleston's Emanuel A.M.E. Church in 2015 forming just one example. This book makes clear that understanding the twenty-first-century South means recognizing many kinds of southern Christianities.
James Hudnut-Beumler is the Anne Potter Wilson Distinguished Professor of American religious history at Vanderbilt University Divinity School and the author of several books, including In Pursuit of the Almighty's Dollar.
"A book that's part pilgrimage, part history lesson, and part celebration of the many versions of Christianity in the South. [Hudnut-Beumler] writes with grace about almost everyone he meets. . . . Still, [he] doesn't shy away from the deep divides and sins of Southern Christians."--Bob Smietana, Christianity Today "An accessible text . . . [that] successfully posits the South not as monolithic but an increasingly diverse space, as evidenced in and through its Christian churches."--Religious Studies Review "Though it has long been common knowledge that the South has remained the most religious section of the United States, few realize just how diverse are the expressions of its faith. James Hudnut-Beumler . . . now dispels long held stereotypes, drawing upon a decade of interviews, field trips, and research in a host of primary and secondary sources. . . . An engaging work."--Anglican and Episcopal History "Will serve as a good reference for those interested in further exploring or conducting research on the recent history of Christianity in the South."--Nova Religio
