Chapter 29 Quiz: Faith in the Hollers
Multiple Choice
1. Which Baptist tradition rejected missionary societies, Sunday schools, and paid ministers as unbiblical innovations?
a) Regular Baptists b) Missionary Baptists c) Primitive Baptists d) Southern Baptists
2. The practice of a song leader reading or chanting each line of a hymn before the congregation sings it is called:
a) Shape-note singing b) Lining out c) Chanted preaching d) Glossolalia
3. Francis Asbury is most closely associated with which religious tradition in Appalachia?
a) The Primitive Baptist tradition b) The Methodist circuit rider tradition c) The Presbyterian institutional tradition d) The Pentecostal movement
4. The farmer-preacher tradition was based on the conviction that:
a) Ministers should be well-paid professionals b) Ministry was a calling, not a career, and a preacher who shared his congregation's daily life understood their struggles c) Only seminary-trained ministers could properly interpret scripture d) Preaching was a temporary assignment rotated among church members
5. The Holiness movement emerged in the late nineteenth century primarily as a reaction against:
a) The growing respectability and formality of mainstream Protestant churches b) The Civil War and its aftermath c) The arrival of Catholic immigrants in Appalachia d) The invention of the printing press
6. Speaking in tongues (glossolalia) is most closely associated with which Appalachian religious tradition?
a) Presbyterian b) Primitive Baptist c) Pentecostal d) Regular Baptist
7. Snake handling as a worship practice is based on a literal interpretation of which Bible passage?
a) Genesis 3:14-15 b) Exodus 4:1-5 c) Mark 16:17-18 d) Revelation 12:9
8. The farmer-preacher tradition was significant during the coal wars because:
a) Farmer-preachers earned more money than company ministers b) Farmer-preachers owed nothing to the coal companies and could speak freely c) Coal companies required all ministers to be farmer-preachers d) Farmer-preachers were the only people allowed to hold public meetings
9. Shape-note singing uses differently shaped noteheads to:
a) Indicate the volume at which each note should be sung b) Represent different pitches, allowing congregations without formal musical training to sing complex hymns c) Distinguish between male and female vocal parts d) Indicate which language a hymn should be sung in
10. Which of the following best describes the Presbyterian contribution to early Appalachian religious life?
a) They established the largest congregations in the region b) They pioneered snake handling c) They brought an institutional tradition rooted in education, founding schools and academies d) They introduced the Holiness movement to the mountains
11. Decoration Day in Appalachian communities involved:
a) Decorating Christmas trees with handmade ornaments b) The annual spring gathering to clean the community cemetery, place flowers, remember the dead, and reconnect kin networks c) A harvest festival with food and music d) The annual painting of the church building
12. The term "church discipline" in Appalachian congregations referred to:
a) Physical punishment administered by the minister b) Mandatory Bible study classes c) The informal adjudication of disputes, enforcement of moral standards, and potential expulsion of unrepentant members d) Military-style training for church defense
13. During the Harlan County coal wars, independent churches served as:
a) Recruiting centers for the coal companies b) Meeting places for union organizing when all other gathering spaces had been shut down c) Neutral ground where neither operators nor miners were allowed d) Exclusively places of worship with no political function
14. The theological concept of Arminianism, associated with Methodist tradition, teaches that:
a) Salvation is predetermined and cannot be influenced by human choice b) Salvation is available to all who choose to accept it — individuals have genuine free will c) Only the elect may attend church services d) Salvation requires handling venomous serpents
Short Answer
15. In two or three sentences, explain the difference between fatalism and activism as theological responses to suffering in Appalachian religion. How did each position serve different interests during the coal wars?
16. Describe the concept of "chanted preaching" and explain its cultural significance. Why is it important to understand this practice as a skilled art form rather than a sign of religious primitiveness?
17. The chapter argues that the church served as "community infrastructure" in Appalachian life. Identify and briefly explain at least three non-worship functions that churches performed in mountain communities.
18. Why does this chapter argue that snake handling is "the most sensationalized, least representative practice" in Appalachian religion? What does the disproportionate attention to snake handling reveal about how outsiders perceive the region?
Answer Key Location
Answers to selected questions can be found in Appendix: Answers to Selected Exercises.