The publication of the Encyclopedia of Religion in the South in 1984 signaled the rise in the scholarly interest in the study of Religion in the South. Religion has always been part of the cultural heritage of that region, but scholarly investigation had been sporadic. Since the original publication of the ERS, however, the South has changed significantly in that Christianity is no longer the primary religion observed. Other religions like Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism have begun to have very important voices in Southern life. This one-volume reference, the only one of its kind, takes this expansion into consideration by updating older relevant articles and by adding new ones. After more than 20 years, the only reference book in the field of the Religion in the South has been totally revised and updated. Each article has been updated and bibliography has been expanded. The ERS has also been expanded to include more than sixty new articles on Religion in the South. New articles have been added on such topics as Elvis Presley, Appalachian Music, Buddhism, Bill Clinton, Jerry Falwell, Fannie Lou Hamer, Zora Neale Hurston, Stonewall Jackson, Popular Religion, Pat Robertson, the PTL, Sports and Religion in the South, theme parks, and much more. This is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in the South, religion, or cultural history.

Hein skillfully provides regional, religious, and historical contexts for Powell's life and furnishes penetrating insights into the man and the entire Episcopal establishment of this era. [The author] resourcefully combines secondary scholarship, personal conversations and communications, and conventional primary documents to capture Powell's personality, career, and relationships.... Anyone with a serious interest in American religious history will find this compelling biography to be both informative and thought provoking. -- Samuel C. Shepherd Jr., Journal of Southern History Hein's wide knowledge of the sociocultural forces at work in the mid-twentieth century, and especially the forces that generated the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, have enabled him to illuminate an entire period of Episcopal Church history through the life and work of one man. . . . Hein's gracious style, judicious insights, and especially his striking ability to penetrate the subtleties of southern religion in brief and trenchant observations make this book a pleasure to read. -- Susan J. White, Anglican and Episcopal History [A] painstaking, thoughtful biography. . . . To this story Hein ... brings balance, sensitivity, and exhaustive research. As 'the last bishop of the old church,' Noble Powell will be remembered longer than many of his predecessors. -- James Bready, Baltimore Sun [This] biography . . . is meticulously researched, full of primary source material and rich documentation. [It] is fun to read for anyone with an interest in American Protestant history. -- David E. Sumner, Journal of American History

As the owner of more than 200 slaves and a profitable sugar plantation, Bishop Polk commanded a unique platform from which he articulated a vision of the Old South that merged Episcopalian values and traditions with the region's more dominant evangelical religious culture. Polk displayed virtually no interest in his denomination's theological squabbles. Instead, his genius rested in his attempts to cultivate a religious solidarity among white Southerners of all classes and to broaden the social and cultural appeal of Episcopalianism in the South. Polk's mission for the University of the South illustrated his dedication to denominational purity, but it also embodied the fundamental tenets of a religious and culturally based Southern nationalism.

Published in 1989, this bibliography considers religious seminaries that are affiliated with the various denominations of the theological institutions established in the United States by the Protestants in the early 1800s, it also considers non-denominational and independent settings. Divided into two sections, the first short section considers the relationship between the civil governments and the seminaries, the second, organized by denomination into 15 chapters provides an extensive bibliography with annotations. The work pulls together a wealth of reference material and identifies salient works, whether book, article, dissertation or essay, to provide a much-needed resource for those interested in seminary education in the United States, whether scholar, student, policy maker, or interested citizen.