Overcoming Misunderstanding

A recent study by Gallup (see Frank Newport, "Mississippi Is Most Religious U.S. State," 27 March 2012) shows that eight southeastern states and Utah are among the most religious in the United States. The authors of American Grace found much the same thing: Utah, the Deep South, and the Mississippi Valley are the most religious areas of the country (see Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010. Page 27). Both Utah and the South tend to be conservative politically, and both side with conservatism in the "culture wars." Unfortunately, people in Utah (and the Mormon corridor) and the South have often come in conflict with one another. Evangelical Christians (for the most part) reject the claim of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be Christian. Many Latter-day Saints in turn have made little effort to understand Evangelicals and the importance that their religion has had in the shaping of their lives.

It is unlikely that Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints will agree on doctrinal issues any time soon. This blog is not to argue points of theology in the Bible or other scriptures, nor should any comments be about arguing religion. Rather, this blog seeks to increase understanding of the history of Latter-day Saints, specifically in the South, and how southern history fits into the equation. What Utahns and Latter-day Saints need to understand is the history of the South and how Evangelical Protestantism has been a major force in the lives of southerners. Utahns need to treat the history of southerners (black and white) with the same respect they would accord their own ancestors. On the flip side, southerners need to understand that Latter-day Saints have been among them for many years, and up to the 1950s most Latter-day Saints in the South were native southerners, their own kin. Southerners should also understand that the Mormon West is very much a kindred area with its own history of troubles with the Federal Government, a tradition of hospitality, and its own sense of religion within the community.

Both the Bible Belt and the Book of Mormon Belt have much to learn from the history of each other. Hopefully this blog will be a way to overcome misunderstanding between these two areas, and anyone else who seeks to know more about these two areas.