That Old Time Religion

Give me that old time religion.

Give me that old time religion.

Give me that old time religion.

That’s good enough for me.

So say some of the lyrics to a hymn one can still hear sung in the churches down here. “That old time religion” is still alive and well in the South.  They don’t call this region the “Bible Belt” for nothing and since my return I once again have seen how true that moniker really is.

Prior to moving to Colorado, I lived in North Carolina and Alabama for twelve years.  I was raised in a home where religion had a place.  I attended church every Sunday even though my parents didn’t.  Nevertheless, they wanted their children to go and believe in the things preached from the pulpit.  Religion was important to me into adulthood but it may well have had its greatest meaning during my years in Alabama and the first five or so in Colorado.

Religion is a leading force in Southern life and culture.  That is certainly not true where I lived in Boulder, Colorado.  Yes, there are churches, synagogues, temples and other religious meeting places in Boulder; and there are many believers of different faiths living there.  I knew those who professed Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and other beliefs.  But it was clear that for many people religion wasn’t the driving force in their lives.  In fact, the only place in Colorado where that would not have been true was the city of Colorado Springs where fundamentalist-style religion has a stronghold.  By contrast, Boulder is the polar opposite of the Springs in just about every aspect of life.  Far from being conventionally religious, many Boulderites could be classified more as secular humanists.

In the South religion is more than a personal matter.  It is a potent political force whose power and strength cannot be ignored.  The Civil Rights movement was born in this region’s churches where preachers used language that was simultaneously fiery and eloquent to inspire their congregations to active resistance against racism and segregation.  Martin Luther King, Jr. was a preacher as are Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.  And ministers today are still held in very high esteem.  Birmingham has named streets and buildings for them in recognition of the role they have played in the city’s history.

Sunday morning is the time when religion’s power is the most visible.  Preachers take to radio and television to spread their messages.  I had completely forgotten how they dominate the scene in that way.  But I found out my first Sunday back when every local television station in Birmingham broadcast some kind of church service or preacher’s sermon.  It was likewise on the radio where many local stations followed suit.  Then there are the radio and television networks whose entire content is nothing but fundamentalist Christian religion and thinking, producing programming that is listened to or watched by legions of people.

Religion also plays a big role in building personal social networks.  It is quite common when meeting new people to be asked what church you attend.  People not only attend church faithfully, they are very often deeply involved in them to an extent I hardly ever saw in Colorado.  Many are lay ministers—my brother John is one—or they take part in the various outreach programs their church will have that are directed toward youth, tending to the elderly, political involvement or other things.  Churches also stage social events, gatherings, picnics and other meetings to strengthen personal ties within the flock.  They are prominent in charity work too, running food banks, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and even medical clinics providing primary health care for the indigent. 

Church choirs are a very important part in the life of the congregation as well.  Good singers are encouraged to be choir members.  My sister-in-law sings at her church, even performing solo as I witnessed on a recent Sunday.  These choirs are mother lodes of outstanding talent, too.  Opera singer Leontyne Price sang in her Mississippi church’s choir.  Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson did likewise for her church and so did the late Whitney Houston.  Talent scouts often attend services looking for new people whose abilities are then culled for careers in the entertainment industry.

Church is the institution many will join when looking for a spouse, a job or a better life situation for themselves.  The connections formed through knowing congregation members are unequaled.  I’ve already been told by family members that I will be introduced or mentioned to different church people they know when I begin looking for work next summer.  I won’t have to be a member of the congregation to be helped by the church either.  It was enough that I knew a congregation member to be eligible for assistance.

Perhaps the sign I saw that was the most important indicator of the power of old time religion was church buildings themselves.  Yes, Birmingham does have some very impressive houses of worship.  Quite a few are splendid architectural masterpieces, but that’s not what I mean.  It is the sheer number of churches which exist in the city that is overwhelming to me.  A walk around my neighborhood made me acutely aware of this.

There are not one, not two, but seven churches with active congregations within walking distance of my house.  By walking distance I mean buildings you can reach in less than twenty minutes.  Some of these churches are close to a century in age now, but they still stand with their steeples framed against the Alabama sky.  These churches represent different Christian denominations.  I have seen Roman Catholic, Southern Baptist, Methodist, and Congregationalist churches during my walks.  And that’s not counting the congregations that don’t have a building of their own in which to worship but instead meet in private homes or commercial spaces.

If there are seven churches within walking distance of my house, I can only imagine how many there are in the entire city.  Some are the so-called “mega-churches” which boast thousands of members.  Others are much more modest in size with perhaps a couple  hundred in the fold.  But whether they are large or small, the churches here have influence and control that dwarf anything I saw when I lived in Boulder.  Old time religion maintains a high profile everywhere and will always do so.

I am not a regular church-goer anymore.  I have gone to one service since I came back and that was at the church John’s family attends because he was preaching a sermon that particular Sunday, so it was very important that I attend to show my love and support for him.  Formal religion does not appeal to or attract me nowadays, but I am intrigued by the way so many hold it in such high regard, and how it influences numerous aspects of their lives.

“You’re down South now,” John said with a laugh recently when I remarked on the religious cast to various features of life in Alabama.  Indeed I am.  It’s not just old times that aren’t forgotten in Dixie.  Old time religion hasn’t been either and understanding that will enable me to coexist peacefully.