Praying in the Pine Straw

Step into the South's brush arbors and piney woods where faith runs deep, stories run wild, and the old-time camp meeting was anything but quiet. Praying in Pine Straw immerses readers in the raw, rollicking, and deeply human world of Alabama's camp meetings-a Southern tradition where fire-and-brimstone preaching echoed through pine forests and where faith was often accompanied by contradiction. From "e;treeing the Devil"e; to "e;holy laughter,"e; these revivals blended heartfelt worship with all the complications of human nature. Mule-drawn wagons brought the faithful to rustic camps, where gospel fervor mingled with whiskey traders, local politicians, and opportunists of every kind. Preachers thundered against sin-even as they sometimes flirted with it themselves. Robert C. Morgan offers a textured portrait of camp meetings as both spiritual experience and cultural spectacle, reviving a Southern tradition that flourished from the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. With a blend of humor and keen insight, Praying in the Pine Straw unveils the enduring contradictions of "e;old-time religion"e; and its significant influence on Southern culture and faith-a legacy that is both treasured and complex.