Book Review - Baptized in Blood: The Religion of the Lost Cause, 1865-1920, by Charles Reagan Wilson
The American South is called the “Bible Belt” for good reasons: religion is much more a part of culture, politics, and the general social order than it is in other parts of the United States. This has significant implications because none of the political, social, or cultural developments in the South can be studied without taking into account the fact that religion — Christianity, specifically — plays an integral role in what’s going on. This includes slavery, the Civil War, and the aftermath.
Summary
Title: Baptized in Blood: The Religion of the Lost Cause, 1865-1920
Author: Charles Reagan Wilson
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
ISBN: 0820306819
Pro:
• Extensive information not generally available elsewhere
• Reveals the deep and extensive role of Christianity in southern culture, racism, xenophobia
Con:
• None
Description:
• Analysis of how religion was used to define and explain the Civil War
• Argues that Christianity played a key role in reconstituting the South’s sense of self, mission, destiny
• Explains how southern culture has impacted America and American nationalism generally
It is increasingly obvious that there are many links between the ideology of the Lost Cause and the more fanatical and racist elements of the current political right. Few people outside that particular subculture understand the extent to which a 19th century revisionist movement underlies much of the controversy and turmoil we are seeing in today’s far right. From RS McCain and the Dominionists to a large swath of the fundamentalist movement and luddite antiscience, the shadow of the Confederacy is never very far away.