"Who are these people..." Ah, good question. I have known quite a few. There are enclaves even in Seattle, and many in the rural areas and small towns of Washington, but they're pretty marginal in large cities.
The Bible Belt however has been taken out a few more notches. Evangelicals have learned not to say "Catholics and Christians" in public, but that this is a common phrase will show just how... daunting discussion can be. Because I was active in the peace movement much of my life, I had a positive attitude toward Christians, who tended to make up a large part of peace and pacifist movements and are willing to go to jail for them.
Then I moved to Iowa, and found that I'd been cloistered.Where fundamentalist Christians are in the majority, they're more like Atwood's Handmaid's Tale and a lot less like MLK (who was also an evangelical). It's the second strain: our history is on one side a tale of poor but honest farmers who took their guns and defended their land; on t'other one of waves of immigrants enriching the cities in every way. That struggle exists beneath every surface conflict to this day: Frontier or City of Gold?
Religious mysteries
The Bible Belt however has been taken out a few more notches. Evangelicals have learned not to say "Catholics and Christians" in public, but that this is a common phrase will show just how... daunting discussion can be. Because I was active in the peace movement much of my life, I had a positive attitude toward Christians, who tended to make up a large part of peace and pacifist movements and are willing to go to jail for them.
Then I moved to Iowa, and found that I'd been cloistered.Where fundamentalist Christians are in the majority, they're more like Atwood's Handmaid's Tale and a lot less like MLK (who was also an evangelical). It's the second strain: our history is on one side a tale of poor but honest farmers who took their guns and defended their land; on t'other one of waves of immigrants enriching the cities in every way. That struggle exists beneath every surface conflict to this day: Frontier or City of Gold?