The traditional class hierarchy of churches in the US South is Episcopalians (Church of England), Presbyterians (Scots), Methodists (Low Church of England), and then the Baptists. Only the Presbyterians of that bunch traditionally Calvinists. Oh yeah, Lutherans (Germans) are in there with the Methodists. The Baptists were originally out of Germany and in the US have gone very far away from their roots. I note that the Amish and Mennonites are also of the Anabaptist lineage, and all were persecuted vigorously by the Calvinists in Europe. In Europe the Baptists were social radicals.
The United Church of Christ is Calvinist but more upper class and identified with the northern based Congregationalists, the descendants of the Puritans. BTW, the Methodists are the church whose distribution of membership most closely resembles the overall distribution of the population in the US. Can't get any more middle class than that. Barkley Rosser -----Original Message----- From: John K. Taber <jktaber at dhc.net> To: 'lbo_talk' <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Date: Monday, September 27, 1999 9:49 PM Subject: RE: death list
>
>"David Jennings [MSAI] said:
><
>On Sun, 26 Sep 1999, John K. Taber wrote:
>
>>
>>Calvinism cuts both ways.
>>
>>Southern Protestants seem to take Calvin's predestination to mean
>>that they are assured of God's grace. They believe that as born
>>again Christians they are guaranteed salvation regardless of
>>what they do.
>>
>
>I don't know where you're getting this. The most popular churches in
>the
>Southern US are not Calvinist. Also, those churches place a strong
>emphasis on the connection between professions of faith and salvation.
>>
>
>It wouldn't be the first time I was mistaken on this list.
>
>I thought the Baptists were descendents of Calvinism. You're saying
>they're not? So, their belief in personal salvation because of
>being born again isn't grace but profession of faith? I'll be
>darned. I learn something on this list almost every day.
>
>Also, I thought that in the South the Southern Methodists are the
>church of the upper class, while Southern Baptist and Church of
>Christ were middle and working class.
>
>So, does grace have anything to do with Southern Baptists and
>Church of Christ?
>
>