Georgia Division - Religious Differences video from the
Georgia Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans
The Georgia Division of the Sons
of Confederate Veterans has created several one minute videos. This video is on the
Religious Differences that were a major factor resulting in War.
By the outbreak of war between the North and South, there were
many differences between the regions... but none more obvious than the
religious ones. The North, led by New England , had long been the home of
those who wanted religion supported by the state. As a result, Christianity
had given way to a much more secular view of religion there and had spawned
new sects, such as the Unitarian church. This new religion attacked the
inspiration of the Bible and even the deity of Christ and led to humanism,
socialism, and a belief in big government in the North.
Meanwhile, the South had continued to hold fast to a different
version of Christianity... one rooted in tradition and in the Bible. The
general acceptance of each other and of the Bible had a profound effect upon
the culture there. Southerners viewed themselves as free men with no need for
government to control every aspect of their lives and, therefore, believed in
less government.
The religious differences between North and South were never
more apparent, though, than on the many occasions when Yankee soldiers sang
"The Battle Hymn of the Republic" while destroying churches and murdering
civilians throughout the South.
