Description: Leonard explores the ways in which Appalachian cultural and religious transitions and upheavals impact traditional faith communities; the style and significance of their rituals including baptism, foot washing, and glossolalia; their varied approaches to scripture and doctrine as evident in their views on salvation and women's roles.
Brief description: BILL J. LEONARD is the founding dean and professor emeritus of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University. He holds a PhD degree from Boston University. His research focuses on church history with particular attention to American religion, Baptist studies, and religion in Appalachia. A popular speaker and author of some twenty-five books, he has given lectures at a variety of colleges and universities. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Review Quotes: With characteristic wit and respect, Leonard examines both persistence and transformation, wrought by influences from TikTok to mountaintop removal, in Appalachia's distinctive religious traditions. His engaging, provocative approach illuminates religious practices and beliefs as crucibles of experiential insight--not curiosities of a dying, stereotyped culture--that can reveal places of spiritual emptiness and yearning in ourselves. An invaluable read for scholars and seekers alike!--Barbara Ellen Smith "author of Digging Our Own Graves: Coal Miners & the Struggle over Black Lung Disease"