Samuel S. Hill and Charles H. Lippy, eds. Charles Reagan Wilson, consulting ed. Encyclopedia of Religion in the South. Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 2005. 853 pp. 978-0-86554-758-2. Reviewed by Randy J. Sparks, for the Journal of Southern Religion.
Scholars and general readers
alike will be excited and enlightened by the second edition of this influential
reference work, still the only encyclopedia of religion in the South. After more than twenty years, during which
the scholarship on southern religion has proliferated dramatically, the
encyclopedia has been expanded and updated.
Samuel S. Hill, the dean southern religion historians, continues as
editor, ably assisted by two other prominent scholars in the field, Charles H.
Lippy as co-editor and Charles Reagan Wilson as consulting editor. Each article has been updated, and over
sixty new articles have been added on topics ranging from Elvis Presley and
Jerry Falwell to sports and religion.
Overall, the volume contains over 600 articles on individuals,
institutions, places, and ideas.
One of the great strengths of
the volume is the choice of contributors.
Who better than Albert J. Raboteau to write on the “Invisible
Institution”? Or Donald Mathews on
“Evangelicalism,” John Boles on “The Great Revival,” David Garrow on “Black
Ministerial Protest Leadership,” E. Brooks Holifield on “Justification,” or
Nancy Hardesty on “Healing”? These
longer entries by such noted scholars are always informative and skillfully
presented. Shorter entries are less
consistent, but the overall quality remains high. Biographies make up a substantial number of the entries, and the
subjects not only include prominent white men, but also women and African
Americans (there are no Native Americans represented as individuals). The breadth of the coverage is both
impressive and daunting ranging from the colonial period to the present. While most of the entries are brief, they
include bibliographies so that interested readers can easily find additional
information. Indeed, updating the
bibliographies alone would be reason enough to revise the work.
The choice of topics is not
entirely clear. For example, most
“southern” presidents including Clinton, LBJ and Truman are included, but their
entries lack any substantive religious content. Even the entry on Jimmy Carter overlooks his sister Ruth, whose
career as an evangelist attracted considerable media coverage, as did attempts
by African Americans to integrate Carter’s home church in Plains. Even the controversy surrounding his
born-again evangelicalism doesn’t rate a mention. Why do a handful of cities like Charleston, Nashville, and even
Springfield, Mo. have entries while most cities do not? Why an entry for the University of the
South, for instance, but not for most other denominational colleges and
universities or even seminaries? The
entry on Mary Chesnut makes no mention of religion at all. Denmark Vesey merits an entry, but Nat
Turner does not. And here are a few of
the other topics I would deem worthy of entries: the Gullah, the Ursuline
Convent, Tammy Faye Bakker, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Ralph Abernathy,
and the Marie Laveaus. And one final
nit to pick, is it really necessary to refer to the Grimke sisters as “somewhat
homely” (361), when that description fits any number of male religious figures
just as well?
No reference work as
ambitious and wide-ranging as this one can please every reader (and grumbling
about the content of such a reference work is one of the pleasures of reading
it), but no one can leave this work without expanding their understanding of
religion in the South. All of us with
an interest in the topic owe a debt of gratitude to the editors, to the army of
contributors, and to Mercer University Press for bringing us this handsome and
indispensable volume (and that despite the fact that Mercer University didn’t
rate an entry either!).
Randy J. Sparks, Tulane University