Short Story

“Oh no,” whispered mother with her handed across her mouth. “What are we going to do?”

Susan also added that when she got married her parents didn’t ask once what the religion of her husband was. It is evident that her parents assumed that their daughter would choose a husband of the same religion without question. Granted Susan lived in Brooklyn, New York at this time, which was much different from Georgia. Although the geography of churches plays a role in the stringent teachings of religion and what is allowed and what is not, this still was not a deterrent to the relationships of both Susan and Mary Willis.

“We better make this the last house, WayWay. It's getting cold and mom is tired,” Jesse said holding his hand.

“Hey, what are you doing.” Chloe said as she walked over to Kara on the track behind the school after school was over.

“Well, he said he wanted to learn about the triumphant glories of the Republic Program, and Holy Mother Church,” Heidi lied. She only did so in order to remain on the safe side. “Because it just so happens, that not only am I a Roman Catholic, I also happened to be a Ryanite, prior to attending this school.”

“Hey Taylor, Me and Sarah are outside waiting for you, we are giving you a ride to school.” Karina said.

"Hey dad. Yeah we're leaving now. Okay see you soon. Love you too, bye." She hung up. "Okay, they're leaving now, we should get

“It was good, I was just tired and ready to come home to my parents and two brothers.” said Lilly’s small

Patti warned me that the members of the church do not interact with each other very much, and that they weren’t necessarily friendly. This did not seem to be the case today, as many of the “sisters” came over to speak to Patti, and to “meet” her friend.

The atmosphere of the church is warm, hip, and sensitive. However, it also preaches the idea that young people should not party too much, nor be promiscuous. Rather, youth should be spending their time studying the bible. Interestingly enough, young women are often drawn to this church because of the men. For example, Kailea (a former church member) calls the men "the Christian Prince Charming," since they are "real men" (according to Driscoll). These men value growing up, having a job, being independent of their parents, and pursuing a woman. Another appeal to the church for young women is that it can appear to be an easy way out of school and a career. For example, Kaelee Bates a church member says that she "could stay home, clean, have babies, and ignore all of [the] things [she] was struggling with." For some people like Marietta she states that the church is "…appealing because the message of their strict gender roles is a way to rebel against the values of the women of the previous generation." The church can also be found appealing by its ideas. For example, the former church member Jess did not believe in the church's ideas regarding women and gender roles, but ironically this is what caused her to keep coming back-she wanted to prove the church wrong. There are many different appeals for young women to join the church,

“So, yeah, you all are sitting around me with your established lives—” She paused, and placed a hand on Rachael’s arm. “I really am happy for you guys. All that love and babies and shit is great.”

Carmen is in the stage of contemplation on attending church again. She remains undecided, so action is not expected now. Carmen attended church weekly before her arrest. Carmen is insecure with her place in the church and feels unsure how members would react. Her Grandmother is urging Carmen to join the youth group to ease her back into the church community. Carmen’s therapist is going to help Carmen work on her anxiety about church.

Religion plays a different role in southern culture than it does in other parts of the nation. In “the bible belt”, religion is very integrated into both the local and regional cultures, demonstrated by higher attendance in religious activities and more religion affiliated establishments per square mile. The purpose of this paper is to understand how religion plays a role in the life of women in the south and discuss the ever-changing pressures they feel from their community and family. It will also explore why religious ties in the south are stronger than those of the rest of the nation. The research method for this paper is an extended life history of Janet Buckwell, who has lived her entire life

“Well yeah” Taylor muttered with cold pizza in her mouth. The movie ended and we started to talk about boys like always.

“He left my house that night, we just got done planning a road trip around the state, because his birthday was in a couple days and he just got a new car.” I paused, looked around, and started again.