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moved more towards formality and became less accepting of
personal experiences with the supernatural. As a consequence
of this development, many rural Appalachians began to join or
form various denominations and sects of Protestant Christianity
which have become collectively known as “Appalachian Mountain
Religion.” According to McCauley:
Appalachian mountain religion is one of the very few
uniquely American regional traditions to which Protestantism
in the United States can lay claim. It is made up of church
traditions found almost entirely in the region’s mountains
and small valleys. Generally, they do not exist beyond
Appalachia, except through out-migration. These church
traditions, nearly invisible to the outside world and to
much of the Protestant mainstream even within Appalachia,
make up what is exclusive to religious life in Appalachia.
Moreover, they have had profound impact on the overall
religious character of Appalachia, extending their influences
even into large, urban, and broad-valley mainline Protestant
churches in subtle, indirect ways. However, mountain church
traditions are scarcely influenced by the presence of American
Protestantism in Appalachia today. Mountain religion
embodies the distinctive religious ethos of Appalachia. The
Appalachian churches of American Protestantism are affected
by that ethos—although many mainstream Protestant clergy
in Appalachia, native, and ‘foreign,’ would disclaim this—for
it permeates Appalachian culture well beyond the doors of the
mountain ‘church house.” 63
And what is that ethos that permeates Appalachian Mountain
Religion? Loyal Jones, in allowing the people of Appalachia to
speak for themselves, identified a number of common theological
beliefs which permeate the Protestant denominations throughout
the region. With respect to God, Appalachians tend to believe that
he is All-Knowing, All-Powerful and Just, but at the same time
God is remote and unapproachable. However, it is a common
belief that one can hold conversation with God through Jesus.
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