Bible Belt

One of the biggest culture shocks I’ve had since arriving in South Carolina is how religious everyone is here. The South-Eastern part of the States sure isn’t referred to as the ‘bible belt’ for nothing! I have to be really careful to watch my tongue and say ‘Oh my gosh!’ instead of ‘Oh my God!’! On a Sunday, campus is eerily quiet, and this is mainly because a large percentage of the students are at Church. Back at home, I’ve spent the majority of my undergraduate years rehearsing for shows on a Sunday, and before University I spent almost every Sunday out sailing with my Dad and swim training. But here, Sunday truly is the day of rest. Since being in SC, I’ve heard some weird laws that are specifically for Sundays. Such as; it is illegal to sell musical instruments or any alcoholic beverages on a Sunday, (unless you own a private club) and ‘Dance halls’ are not allowed to operate. Strange huh? Another law I’ve heard, although I’m not sure how true it is, is that it’s perfectly legal to beat your wife on the court house steps on Sundays…

What’s shocked me the most is the backward 50s style relationships that religious college age students have. Some Christian couples here actually make up set rules to ensure that they are not ‘inappropriate’ with one another and break the sacred ‘no sex before marriage’ law. For example, some couples set themselves a curfew where they’re not allowed to be together after midnight. I cannot imagine any of my friends in relationships at home watching the clock and having to put a time limit on when they can be together. My immediate response to this rule was; ‘does she turn into a pumpkin after midnight or something?’ Surely whatever they can do after midnight they can also do at two o’clock in the afternoon…… Another rule, which reminds me of films made in the 50s is the ‘one person must have two feet on the floor when cuddling on the sofa’…… What?! I’m not sure what my face was doing when I was told this (probably frowning!) but I had to try immensely hard to keep my big gob shut and try and respect that this is all in the name of religion.

I decided that the best thing to do was to actually attend a ceremony and see what all the fuss was about. First impressions were about the exterior of the building. When I think of the word Church I associate it with gothic style architecture, stone walls, stain-glassed windows, a tall steeple and a scary, haunted graveyard. But the building couldn’t have been more different. With white pillars on the outside it looked a little Greek, and it was very simple and modern on the inside. The service I attended was called the ‘gathering’ after the definition of ‘church’ from the Bible. It was very modern, fit with a live band and electric guitars, feeling more like a concert to begin with than a Church service. I was really impressed with the public speaker, he made everything very relatable for a young audience and it was easy to see why so many college students enjoyed listening to him. Although I haven’t been brought up in any religious way and find the concept of an ethereal person above the clouds a little strange, I’m glad that I was able to go and see things from a different perspective and gain insight on what it truly means to be a Southern Christian.

Hallelujah and Amen.

From Canterbury Cathedral to Gatherings at Midtown, SC.