Religious Ritual in an Absolute Predestinarian Primitive Baptist Church

Abstract

H 1. the stand 2. conference table 3. female members' pews 4. male members' pews 5. visitors' pews 6. visitors' pews FIGURE 1. MT. ZION PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH 58 RELIGIOUS RITUAL IN AN ABSOLUTE PREDESTINARÍAN PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH By Melanie Sovine Reid A moderator of the Original Upper Canoochee Association once said, "Our order of Primitive Baptists just meet, sing, pray and preach, and have conference once a month." *¦ Singing, praying, and preaching are the forms of ritual behavior that constitute the worship service of the Primitve Baptist Church, and all of these forms of ritual behavior can be seen as expressions of humility. Humility is an attitude that is highly valued by the Primitve Baptists and when considered within the context of worship, humility is closely associated with simplicity. In turn, both humility and simplicity are related to the Primitve Baptists' definition and quality of being spiritual . In support of these notions, let us consider a description of a typical worship service in an absolute predestinarían Primitive Baptist Church.^ The first thing one encounters on a meeting day is the church house itself. Primitive Baptist churches usually contain a single room. Above all, the church is plainlooking . The interior is without decor; whether the walls are of plain wood or are finished and painted, they are unadorned. Windows, at one time the only source of light, are large, plentiful, clear-paned, and have no curtains. There appears to be a common architectural style in all geographical areas in Primitive Baptist church houses. Architecturally, they are uncompromisingly simple. In the interior, the "stand" or pulpit is a large, wooden, and very often handmade structure that is to the front of the room (see No. 1, Figure 1). Immediately in front of the stand is the conference table (No. 2), where the Elder and Clerk sit during conference. To the right and left of the stand are pews that are vertically situated (Nos. 3 and 4). These vertical pews are for the church members; men sit on the right side and women on the left side. From midway to the rear of the church house are horizontally aligned pews (Nos. 5 and 6), which are for members of other 59 Primitive Baptist churches and visitors. Men and women are seated in mixed fashion within this section. All of the decorations that one would expect to see in a church sanctuary are conspicuously absent in the Primitve Baptist Church house. Historically, this absence of ornamentation can be traced to the Protestant Reformation and its rejection of idolatry and the elaborate ornamentation of Roman Catholic cathedrals. Upon questioning an Elder about the absence of decorations in the church house, he first answered , "Well, our forefathers didn't have any decorations in their church and we try to do like our forefathers did." There is usually something more behind an answer of "tradition," and the Elder continued: We have nothing against modern conveniences, but we don't want any additives. You feel different in our Church. I've been to funerals in churches where they had all the decorations and you just don't feel the same. You feel different going into a Primitive Baptist Church. . .there's a humbleness there. Finally, as a member concisely stated, "Fixin's don't add anything to religion anyway." But the Primitive Baptist church house is not bereft of symbolism. In one sense, the church house is itself an"instrumental symbol;"^ that is to say, the simplicity of the architectural features and decor of the church house is instrumental in accomplishing a goal. It is a means to an end, which is the attitude of humility. As the Elder stated it, arriving at and entering a Primitive Baptist church house makes you feel humble. Great concern and care is taken in maintaining the original state of the church house. Additions, such as electric lights, carpeting, or indoor restrooms, are added with great deliberation, and they try to keep them consistent with the architectural characteristics common to the building's original design. On meeting days people begin to gather at the church house around 10:30 a.m., the approximate time at which the singing begins...