Did Regional Differences in American Religion Shape the Developing America?

America is an extremely diverse country. Although many would chalk this diversity up to variation in demographics, such as race, age, income, and many other variables, the reality is that this is but one of many underlying reasons for the regional differences in so many American areas. Furthermore, one factor that is frequently overlooked that has actually had a profound impact on not just the development of America, but the future of it, is religion. More specifically, there are subtle regional differences within American religions that helped to shape developing America. The primary reason for this, quite simply, is due to differing beliefs and ways of life that arose as a result of these differing religious beliefs. Therefore, in order to better understand why this is, it is necessary to examine some of these regional differences in particular, and how they were shaped by American religion. 

To begin with, religion has had deep origins in American history, as explained by one source. This source states that the Catholic Church established the Tridentine Latin Mass as the basic form of Catholic worship in 1570, and that this underlying style of worship laid the groundwork for American religious ideals, at least during that time period (Wolfe 10). As a result, this Tridentine Mass went largely unchanged for a number of centuries, allowing it to act as the foundation for much of the diversity that can be observed within American religion today (Wolfe 10). The question, then, becomes "how did this affect developing America in terms of beliefs and ways of life?" The answer is simple: it first introduced the concept of diversity within a singular religion within the context of America. Indeed, Catholicism, largely as a result of this Tridentine Mass, became one of the first real religions in America to have a significant amount of diversity (Wolfe 12).

There were a number of reasons for this. For example, one common area of contention was what is commonly known as the "protestantization" of American Catholicism, taking its inspiration from Catholics who claim to be born-again (Wolfe 14). This is also significant because it begins to introduce personal beliefs and philosophies that began to shape the religious landscape of the country. For example, there are markedly higher concentrations of those who believe they are born-again, even today, in certain areas of the country compared to others. No doubt, these areas all have their own distinct philosophies as a result of this, because religious is not static. That is to say, it is largely cyclical, because religious people, including these Catholics, will pass down their own religious views to their offspring, which is one reason why so many of these divisive elements of religion have persisted in the country for so long, even hundreds of years. 

Catholicism is also important because it introduced many unique ways to worship for Americans, which began to shape many of the beliefs of each individual region at the time. For example, according to the source, Catholicism was largely unique in that it offered very personalized forms of worship, some of which not even requiring the worshiper to attend church regularly (Wolfe 15). This might seem sacrilegious to some, but nevertheless, it did lead to differences in religious philosophy from one area of the country to another. For example, areas in which these non-churchgoing sects of Catholicism were more popular will, by that logic, have fewer churches as well as, possibly, less populated churches. This is interesting because it forms a concrete line between two groups within the same religion, demonstrating how even one simple difference in religious opinion can have such a profound effect on the landscape of a particular area. 

Furthermore, another source maintains that the most significant changes in regards to American religion and its effects on regional differences actually happened fairly recently; within the past century or so. That is to say, the source states that some of the most significant changes occurred in American religion as a result of the growth of more specialized religious groups (Wuthnow 100). For example, Christianity underwent a change toward a splinter group known as the "New Christian Right," including organizations such as Moral Majority, Christian Voice, Religious Roundtable, and the National Federation for Decency, among many others (Wuthnow 100). Although, in the grand scheme of things, none of these individual religious organizations and sub-organizations contributed a great deal to the regional diversity in the country, they each formed a smaller part of a larger whole. Each of these smaller religious groups tended to have a smaller area of operation. That is, due to their size, they did not have the sweeping scope of more conventional and mainstream religions. Instead, they operated within the purview of these religions, but added in their own personal priorities and philosophies, creating unique "flavors" of religion. This means that, shortly after World War II, there began a renaissance, of sorts, in terms of religion. 

This renaissance, then, allowed an individual to get a unique feel for the religious landscape of the country simply by visiting different regions of it. This had a direct effect on the development of the country because it led to differing beliefs and ways of life. Indeed, as can be determined simply by looking at the names of some of these religious sub-groups, each one has their own set of ethics and guidelines, meaning that each one contributed to the overarching philosophy and development of beliefs and ways of life just as they contributed to the ecosystem of religion in general. 

Another key dimension of religion in America that is frequently forgotten is the sociological element of religion. Indeed, although religion is a profound spiritual concept, one must also keep in mind that there are significant sociological elements at play in regards to any organized religion, and this is especially true in regards to some of the earliest religions in the country. For example, according to one source, "...diminishing status differences between denominations have opened denominational boundaries and led to higher rates of religious mobility” (Sherkat 1459). Essentially, this means that religion, from a sociological perspective, is not concrete, even among devout followers, and will oftentimes lead to things like relocation or even changes in sub-groups of faith for many. 

The important part to this sociological element is not the relocation and such itself, but rather the underlying cause of it. Of course, it is impossible to attribute this to merely one source. However, it can be said that people will tend to gravitate more toward geographic areas where their beliefs are shared. This is a common theme in sociology, as well as religion in general. People like being around other like-minded individuals, not just in terms of religion, but everything else as well. This is why there are profound differences in religious denomination within different areas of the country. However, the sociological implications do not end there. As explained earlier, there are concrete connections that can be observed between specific religions and specific beliefs and ways of life. Some religions might believe in abstaining from certain things that other religions would have no problem with, for instance. This concept is explained by one article, which states that many individuals will change religion based on social status, meaning that some individuals, once they reach a certain threshold of status, will switch religions to one that fits the demographics of that particular social status (Sherkat 1460). 

One way that American religion shaped the development of America, and, indeed, continues to shape it, is through one simple concept: immigration. America is a country that has survived and even thrived thanks to immigration, and religion is one of the greatest contributors to that. To that end, one source summarizes the way that this shapes America into four key factors: individual and community, diversity and uniformity, liberal and conservative, and public and private (Haddad. Yazbeck, Smith and Esposito 19). 

The first of these factors, individualism and community, is one of the most important elements of religion in the country, in terms of culture, because the effects of spiritualism on American culture are very introspective, meaning that they affect the mind of the individual to a great degree (Haddad et al 19). This individualism has dominated the religious scene of the country since its foundation, and still does to this day. This is also one of the main reasons why community is so important as well, because it allows for people of similar beliefs to come together and discuss and delve into their own perceptions and interpretations of various religions, as well as how their religion has helped them in their daily lives. 

The distinction between public and private religion is another way that the beliefs and ways of life of America were developed as a result of religion in general. Indeed, according to the same source, America is largely private, in terms of its religion, but this does not mean it has not shaped the way that it has developed significantly (Haddad et al 26). Indeed, the source states that "...private faith and separate community cannot long flourish without encountering the larger public life which sets the pastoral agenda" (Haddad et al 26). Essentially, this means that religion simultaneously operates within public and private perspectives within the country, and this allowed it to reach salience in the country quickly in the earliest days of the country, especially since religion, during those times, was used more commonly as a means of community and organization.

Lastly, one other critical element of religion that contributed to the development of the beliefs and ways of life of America is the diversity element of it. For instance, according to one source, in 1776, a pivotal year for the foundation of the country, Congregational churches were by far the most common, with 668 churches and 71,643 adherents (Newman and Halvorson 18). Presbyterian was the second most popular, with 588 churches and 63,063 adherents (Newman and Halvorson 18). The key here is that no one church had a monopoly on American beliefs and culture, and it is largely for this reason that diversity was allowed to take hold. What is especially interesting here is that Catholic and Baptist churches were far less common then than they are today, with Catholic churches only making up 56 total churches in the country at the time, with a mere 6,006 adherents (Newman and Halvorson 18). This created a massive increase in diversity of religion than what was known before, and, as stated previously, each of these denominations have with them their own beliefs and ways of life. As a result, each of these 18 different types of churches led to their own unique ecosystems and social constructs, which shaped developing America on a deep level (Newman and Halvorson 18). 

Ultimately, each of these denominations occupied their own unique regional areas, leading to some religions having a more salient influence in some parts of the country than others. This simple divide continues to persist today, and, because of how closely integrated religion and beliefs are, one can see a clear correlation between beliefs and ways of life, and the prevailing religion in the area. As has been shown, these underlying differences are the result of the most basic differences in religion and beliefs that were present during the foundation of the country. As a result, these regional differences have persisted for some time, although there have been changes made in more contemporary times. This does not mean these differences are going anywhere, of course.

Works Cited

Haddad, Yvonne Yazbeck, Jane I. Smith, and John L. Esposito. Religion and Immigration: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Experiences in the United States. Rowman Altamira, 2003. Print.

Newman, William M., and Peter L. Halvorson. Atlas of American Religion: The Denominational Era, 1776-1990. Rowman & Littlefield, 2000. Print. 

Sherkat, Darren E.  Tracking the Restructuring of American Religion: Religious Affiliation and Patterns of Religious Mobility, 1973–1998. Social Forces 79.4 (2001): Print.

Wolfe, Alan. The Transformation of American Religion: How We Actually Live Our Faith. Simon and Schuster, 2003. Print.

Wuthnow, Robert. The Restructuring of American Religion: Society and Faith Since World War II. Princeton University Press, 1989. Print