Appalachian Mountain Christianity - (George H. Shriver Lecture Religion in American History) by Bill J Leonard

About the Book

Appalachian Mountain Christianity: The Spirituality of Otherness examines the beliefs and practices of certain Protestant religious groups, primarily Baptists and Holiness Pentecostals, whose history is shaped in and by the Central Appalachian context. Particular attention is given to Primitive and Old Regular Baptists as well as certain denominationally connected or independent Pentecostal communions. Chapters explore the ways in which Appalachian cultural and religious transitions and upheavals impact these traditional faith communities; the style and significance of their rituals including preaching, worship, baptism, foot washing, and glossolalia; their varied approaches to scripture and doctrine as evident in their views on salvation, women's roles in church and home; and in the dramatic nonconformity of two specific Appalachian traditions, the Pentecostal Serpent-handlers and the Primitive Baptist Universalists. Through it all, this study suggests that the ideas and actions of these Appalachian Christians reflect the spirituality of otherness. This is not the otherness of inferiority or ignorance by which Appalachians and their churches are often caricatured, but the otherness of religious experiences that focus on encounters with the Divine and contribute to individual and collective spiritual insight and "inwardness." Those traditions and the spirituality that centers them are worth exploring, even for those who do not join them-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Appalachian Mountain Christianity examines the beliefs and practices of certain Protestant religious groups, primarily Baptists and Holiness Pentecostals, whose history is shaped in and by the Central Appalachian context. Particular attention is given to Primitive and Old Regular Baptists as well as certain denominationally connected or independent Pentecostal communions.

Bill J. Leonard explores the ways in which Appalachian cultural and religious transitions and upheavals impact these traditional faith communities; the style and significance of their rituals including preaching, worship, baptism, foot washing, and glossolalia; their varied approaches to scripture and doctrine as evident in their views on salvation and women's roles in church and home; and in the dramatic nonconformity of two specific Appalachian traditions, the Pentecostal Serpent Handlers and the Primitive Baptist Universalists.

Through his examination, Leonard suggests that the ideas and actions of these Appalachian Christians reflect the spirituality of otherness. This is not the otherness of inferiority or ignorance by which Appalachians and their churches are often caricatured but the otherness of religious experiences that focus on encounters with the Divine and contribute to individual and collective spiritual insight and "inwardness." Those traditions and the spirituality that centers them are worth exploring, even for those who do not join them.

Review Quotes

With characteristic wit and respect, Leonard examines both persistence and transformation, wrought by influences from TikTok to mountaintop removal, in Appalachia's distinctive religious traditions. His engaging, provocative approach illuminates religious practices and beliefs as crucibles of experiential insight--not curiosities of a dying, stereotyped culture--that can reveal places of spiritual emptiness and yearning in ourselves. An invaluable read for scholars and seekers alike!--Barbara Ellen Smith "author of Digging Our Own Graves: Coal Miners & the Struggle over Black Lung Disease"

With the objective eye of a scholar and the subjective heart of a dear friend, Bill J. Leonard explores the gifts of the otherness inherent in Appalachian Christianity. This insightful and, in many ways, prophetic monograph could only have been written by a deeply spiritual scholar willing to expose how his own Christian otherness has been formed and strengthened through communion with the otherness of the people of Appalachia.--Jackie Johns, Professor of Practical Theology, Robert E. Fisher Chair of Spiritual Renewal

With deft analysis and elegant prose, Bill Leonard provides a succinct history of a fascinating, though long overlooked, element of American religion. Appalachian Mountain Christianity takes its place along side Deborah Vansau McCauley's work as the definitive history of religion in Appalachia.--Randall Balmer "author of Evangelicalism in America"

About the Author

BILL J. LEONARD is the founding dean and professor emeritus of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University. He holds a PhD degree from Boston University. His research focuses on church history with particular attention to American religion, Baptist studies, and religion in Appalachia. A popular speaker and author of around twenty-five books, he has given lectures at a variety of universities. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.