Southern Comfort.
By Shannon Dagher
1 September 2008
The prevalence of religion and faith in the U.S. South is best described in the words of William Faulkner: "It's just there." How right he was. Indeed, they call the American South the "Bible Belt" for good reason: churches are everywhere.
Culturally and economically, Southerners have always come to lean heavily upon religion. Rural poverty empowers the local Church to be the place people act on their faith and trust in help from a higher power. It's also where those living below the poverty line find support in the fellowship of others in the same situation. Socially, the local southern Church is often THE gathering place for all community events. In farm country, where your nearest neighbors could live miles away, a Saturday night Church Social sounds pretty good. The cows get boring after a while.
On a recent "off-the-beaten-track" road trip through Georgia and Alabama, I was overwhelmed by the rural churches and their signs that seemed to be everywhere...even when I was nowhere. It was comforting, miles from the nearest home, business, town, etc., to have a tangible sign of humanity pop out at me from the side of the road. Modest and plain, the churches' signs painted an even clearer picture of the congregants who gathered there, and what their life must be like. Often times, there would be up to 5 churches and their simplistically-beautiful signs along the same 5 mile road.
It doesn't really matter whether you're a believer or not; faith and religion are not the same thing. To Southerners, churches are a place of religion and their humble signs are an act of devotion. As a photographer...as a person...it's inspiring to see so many literal signs of optimism. So, the next time you're passing through the Deep South, take a look around at all the collective faith. It won't be hard to spot it; it's everywhere.
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