Care to Listen at a Catholic Hillbilly?

[IrishDude45]

I am from the hills of Tennessee. No one in my family was ever Catholic til me. I converted in 2007. My father moved out of the hills and got a job for the state so I’m able to hide the fact I’m Catholic but I want to move back to the hills in a couple of years, and I I can’t hide it then. The religion is such a major part of my family’s culture and I feel like I’ve separated myself from that. It doesn’t matter where I move to in these hills I won’t be able to find a Catholic church where my folk attend. It just doesn’t exist. Everyone’s either Presbyterian or church of Christ, there are no Catholics except transplanted Yankees who have wandered in here. I’ve given up so much to become Catholic but I don’t know if I can give up the culture of my folk, my family. I mean I can’t find a community where I won’t be looked at odd once they know my faith, I might even get “whupped off” once I hang a crucifix. When asked where I go to chapel my standard answer is “oh, that church down the road a ways” and I change the conversation. There isn’t a residenter born that would take in a papist much less marry one. Though I seriously doubt it, are there any other mountain folk out there that became a Catholic and didn’t have to move away to find a place where they could live out their faith? My family’s been here since before Tennessee was a state, I don’t plan on being the first to leave this area. Anyone else in a similar spot that would have any advice?

pax

 

[kesa82]

I live in East Tennessee, in Grainger county to be exact. Just outside Knoxville. I’m not from here. I’m a southerner from central North Carolina. I think I can sum up my own origins and culture by saying that in the house I grew up in there was a Confederate flag on the wall, a picture of Robert E. Lee on one side, and a picture of Jesus – a Baptist Jesus, on the other side. Anyway, I just traded a humid, flat-land protestant stronghold for a cool mountain protestant stronghold.
Given my culture, given my geographical locations, to choose to become Catholic was to choose to become a minority. And not just in relation to outsiders, but within the church itself. Just superficially looking around my church on sunday, it definitely appears to me that the Catholic church is as culturally diverse as was the Holy Roman Empire / Spanish Empire under Charles V.
—And THAT is my consolation, cold as it may sometimes be. If some of my Catholic brethren give the Confederate flag in my lapel a dirty look, I can only comment wryly ( to myself of course ) " that’s a bit like the pot calling the kettle black. " Our Pope is German, his bodyguard is Swiss, our capitol is Rome, and even most other christians would say our theology of the body is medieval and alien, like our architecture.

Sorry, I have no advice. But you have my sympathies and prayers.
I would add one more thing ; it is ,after all, the one, true, Holy and apostolic church.
Is there an alternative?

 

[EmBee]

Well hello, TN!

I guess I’m one of those “transplanted yankees” you’re talking about, although I didn’t convert to Catholicism until I had lived in TN for about 6 years! I understand feeling uncomfortable being Catholic in this area. None of my friends are Catholic, but most of them are Christian. When I first converted, one friend asked me to defend my faith a lot. I think she was testing me to see if I was a “Christian” or a “Catholic” because there seems to be a concensus in my area that the two are mutually exclusive (and here I thought they were synonymous ). Other than that, no one really approaches me about my faith, except for the occassional inappropriate joke about priests. Most recently I got the “what is on your forehead?” on Ash Wednesday and “whaddya mean you can’t eat chili dogs at the company picnic this Friday?” during Lent. I think most of what makes it uncomfortable being “openly Catholic” in the South is that people here are so darn talkative! I mean really, strangers will tell you anything they want you to know … being from the midwest I’m not too fond of this fast-friends thing people have down here, but it is what it is.

Anywho, I don’t have any advice, but try to keep your head up and be proud to be Catholic!

–

 

[CatholicSam]

See if you can find a closer church here: Diocese of Knoxville - parishesonline.com/scripts/hostedsites/org.asp?ID=20944

Or here: Diocese of Memphis - parishesonline.com/scripts/hostedsites/org.asp?ID=20959

Or here: Diocese of Nashville - parishesonline.com/scripts/hostedsites/org.asp?ID=20965

Maybe your example is just what your friends and family need to start understanding that Catholics actually are the original Christians. Who knows, maybe some of them will start looking into Catholicism as a result of your conversion!

 

[shannyk]

I am from the hills of Tennessee. No one in my family was ever Catholic til me. I converted in 2007. My father moved out of the hills and got a job for the state so I’m able to hide the fact I’m Catholic but I want to move back to the hills in a couple of years, and I I can’t hide it then. The religion is such a major part of my family’s culture and I feel like I’ve separated myself from that. It doesn’t matter where I move to in these hills I won’t be able to find a Catholic church where my folk attend. It just doesn’t exist. Everyone’s either Presbyterian or church of Christ, there are no Catholics except transplanted Yankees who have wandered in here. I’ve given up so much to become Catholic but I don’t know if I can give up the culture of my folk, my family. I mean I can’t find a community where I won’t be looked at odd once they know my faith, I might even get “whupped off” once I hang a crucifix. When asked where I go to chapel my standard answer is “oh, that church down the road a ways” and I change the conversation. There isn’t a residenter born that would take in a papist much less marry one. Though I seriously doubt it, are there any other mountain folk out there that became a Catholic and didn’t have to move away to find a place where they could live out their faith? My family’s been here since before Tennessee was a state, I don’t plan on being the first to leave this area. Anyone else in a similar spot that would have any advice?

pax

Irish dude, I have to be honest and say I can’t relate to your situation one bit. Not even a little. I honestly find it hard to believe that hatred and misinformation the likes of which you describe even exists at all, much less in my own country. It’s funny how even within the US you can feel like you’re in a whole other country, or even other planet. Within my own family I get the snarky attitudes about my faith, but in the greater community here Catholics are a majority, so even though many are not practicing there isn’t the disdain simply for being Catholic that you describe. Seems too, that there is a pride about being from the southern states that I haven’t seen here ‘up north’. Not that we’re ashamed mind you, but it’s not the subcultural phenomenon you have down there. Though, most people I know would be thinking two or three times about moving down south, for just the reasons you gave; it’s an insiders territory. Anyway, that’s beside the point.

I’m very sorry you have to deal with this. I also think you are very brave and have much more to sacrifice than a lot of Catholics, and in that you have much more glory to give God, which is a blessing.

As far as advice, I don’t know if I have any. Personally, I’d probably move if it was that bad there. Maybe I’m not as brave as you are. I think if you are going to stay which it sounds like you are, you’re going to have to get even more gumption and prepare to be persecuted for Christ by your family, friends, and community. The upside is, if you can do that you can really be a light to others. Maybe it would help you to read about others in our world who face persecution even worse simply for being Catholic or Christian. You’re certainly not alone in that. I truly wish you the best and you have my prayers.

now I have to pose an off topic question to you southerners…

Why the confederate flag?

 

[kesa82]

…

Why the confederate flag?

Off-topic, But I’ll answer for myself, just once. I suppose in my case for much the same sort of reasons I keep the Papal flag, and would keep the flag of the Holy Roman Empire, if I could find one.
Which is to say, in my case, family and church relationships precede all others.

 

[yellowbird]

Will your family & friends freak out once they learn you are Catholic? Probably. But only for a little while and then they will go back to thinking about themselves or freaking out about something new they heard about somebody else. The novelty of you being Catholic will wear off and they will leave you alone about it… Unless they are horrid people, and I doubt the good hill people of Tennesee are horrid?

My Mom always said we spend waaaaaaaaay too much time worrying about what other people think because actually, other people are mostly just thinking about themselves.

God bless you!

 

[IrishDude45]

Why the confederate flag?

I’ll put in my two cents. If you were to drive down the road here you’d see bout one at every house. There are still many Civil War era cemeteries around here where the heroes of the war are venerated. Its just like a shrine to St Francis or something like that is the only thing I could equate it to. The place where this man or that man was buried, where he was hung, that type of thing. Believe it or not most folks around here aren’t racists, they are, just like you said, opposed to outsiders. Its not about racism at all, I even know some blacks that fly the Stars and Bars. Its more a symbol of Southern heritage and the pride that is all wrapped up in those men who fought and died way back then, something that is a living, breathing tradition of standing up for whatever it may be that you believe in.

 

[GratefulDad]

I’ll put in my two cents. If you were to drive down the road here you’d see bout one at every house. There are still many Civil War era cemeteries around here where the heroes of the war are venerated. Its just like a shrine to St Francis or something like that is the only thing I could equate it to. The place where this man or that man was buried, where he was hung, that type of thing. Believe it or not most folks around here aren’t racists, they are, just like you said, opposed to outsiders. Its not about racism at all, I even know some blacks that fly the Stars and Bars. Its more a symbol of Southern heritage and the pride that is all wrapped up in those men who fought and died way back then, something that is a living, breathing tradition of standing up for whatever it may be that you believe in.

IrishDude,

This is from another post regarding Fr. Corapi. Pretty interesting connections about Catholics, the Catholic Church and it shows a staunch stand against slavery but pretty strong support for Southern Independence by Southern Catholics.

"On January 13, 1435, Eugene IV issued from Florence the bull Sicut Dudum, this bull condemned the enslavement of the black natives of the newly colonized Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. The Pope stated that after being converted to the faith or promised baptism, many of the inhabitants were taken from their homes and enslaved:

“They have deprived the natives of their property or turned it to their own use, and have subjected some of the inhabitants of said islands to perpetual slavery (subdiderunt perpetuae servituti), sold them to other persons and committed other various illicit and evil deeds against them… Therefore We … exhort, through the sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ shed for their sins, one and all, temporal princes, lords, captains, armed men, barons, soldiers, nobles, communities and all others of every kind among the Christian faithful of whatever state, grade or condition, that they themselves desist from the aforementioned deeds, cause those subject to them to desist from them, and restrain them rigorously. And no less do We order and command all and each of the faithful of each sex that, within the space of fifteen days of the publication of these letters in the place where they live, that they restore to their pristine liberty all and each person of either sex who were once residents of said Canary Islands … who have been made subject to slavery (servituti subicere). These people are to be totally and perpetually free and are to be let go without the exaction or reception of any money.”

From the same post:

“During the Civil War the Confederacy had an envoy in the Vatican. Dixie was written by a Catholic and 20 generals in the Confederate Army were Catholics.”

The support of the Confederacy by those of Irish heritage is also very significant. The site below shows several Confederate Irish Regiment flags about half way down the site one Specifically for a Tennessee Irish regiment.

flagguys.com/csaflags.html#prices

The Poet Priest of the CSA was Fr. Abraham Ryan. He was stationed in Knoxville and other Tenn. cities and wrote Civil War Poems my Grandmother can still recite.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abram_Joseph_Ryan

By the way the flag you describe was NOT the CSA National flag it was the Battle Flag for the South, not sure how it got hijacked by the media as something negative. It was designed by a Catholic, General P.G.T. Beauregard. It was designed after the St. Andrews Cross( St. Andrew was Jesus’ first Disciple) it had 13 stars (only 11 States seceded at that time) 12 stars for the tribes of Israel and one star for God. See site below.

romanchristendom.blogspot.com/2007/11/tales-from-old-south-jefferson-davis.html

 

[kesa82]

Hmm, East Tennessee is a big region. IrishDude45 said “the Hills” so I assumed he meant East Tennessee. Anyway, there are differences, say, between Chattanooga on one end ( which in my estimation is more Georgian in character and culture ) and Cumberland Gap, which is definitely coal miner / hillbilly country.
So I was wondering if he could be more specific as to region ? Or is he just thinking in general terms of moving back east?

 

[kesa82]

Now I have another question for IrishDude45. I can’t find any reference to your age, so this may be a dumb question. Are you not married?
That could indeed be rather lonely. As you indicated, in many places it’s all Free Will Baptists and Church of God. ( PLEASE excuse me if I shudder. )
A NATIVE Catholic girl in Hancock county, for example ? There MAY be ONE or TWO.

IF, however, you can commute to Knoxville the churches are packed. As a matter of fact, the FIRST time I ever went to Mass here I wound up sitting beside a single girl.

It’s none of my buiseness of course, but, despite the fact that I am myself a 41 year old bachelor, never married, I seem to have this intense desire to see other Catholics married.

 

[IrishDude45]

Thanks for all the responses.

kesa82,
I’d just like to get back east and I’d probably be more comfortable more toward the Cumberland Gap. I’m going to college at ETSU next year so that’s the right half of the state anyway. I’ll probably move around some after that, staying in the same general area. I think there’s a Catholic group at the school so that’ll be good, I wonder how many of them are natives though? Ah, too young to be married but hopefully I’ll find that ONE native Catholic girl in college.

pax

 

[kellen]

I know it’s kind of late (I don’t check the forums very often), but I wanted to offer a word of sympathy. I come from the opposite side of the Appalachians (NC), I have very strong Protestant (anti-Catholic) roots in the hills, and have converted very recently with very strong disapproval from my immediate family. I still haven’t told any of my extended family because I think I have a good idea of how it would turn out, and it wouldn’t be nice. I moved before I converted, so I’m not really around any of them.

If you’re going to ETSU, then that will provide you with some good time to be semi-independent, get exposure to a different culture, see if you’re willing to move away or not. Hope everything goes well for you at college.