Last week, as I began my review of Omri Elisha’s Moral Ambition, I quoted a line that resonated strongly with me:
Here in the Bible Belt, going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to McDonald’s makes you a hamburger.
In the comments to my post, however, not everyone agreed about the strength of this sound bite. As I’ve reflected on the conversation, I’ve wondered if the difference in understanding is related to a difference in context — specifically, the difference between hearing the line in the Bible Belt and hearing the line as a Christian in academia.
The Bible Belt and the secular academy occupy different extremes with regard to Christianity. This county-by-county map, produced by the 2010 US Religious Census, provides a quick overview of the regional differences in the US.
Blue and green denote low rates of religious adherance, while yellow and orange mark high rates. The regional centers of academic excellence in the United States — the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, California’s Bay Area — are some of the bluest areas of the country.[1] I’d be very curious to see if the blue counties in the midst of yellow, highly-religious areas correspond to counties that are home to major research universities.
A few significance differences between the role of Christianity in the Bible Belt and in the secular academy have occurred to me, with some accompanying suggestions for different approaches to the context. Let me know what you think, especially if you have experience in both the Bible Belt and the secular academy.
Differences in Context
Dominant Culture vs. Marginal Religion: In the Bible Belt, Christianity is the dominant cultural force. Christianity pervades the whole culture of the Bible Belt, and not simply the religious arena. The debates over the Ten Commandments in public buildings, for example, is about cultural symbolism (in my opinion) just as much as religious convictions about the Ten Commandments. Prayers are a common way to open public meetings, and, as a child, I remember most doctor’s offices offering Bibles and children’s picture Bibles as waiting room reading material.
In the secular academy, meanwhile, Christianity is both marginalized and privatized. It’s not the dominant force of university culture by any means, and those who believe in Christianity are expected to keep it to themselves. Even a small gesture, like keeping a Bible on your desk, as Ken Elzinga as a young professor, can be seen as an act of defiance against the prevailing culture. [Read more…] about Is Bible Belt Christianity Relevant to Christians in Academia?