Religion in Lamar County

Gavin de Gruiter

October 2, 2022

Table 1. Religions in Lamar County, Mississippi. Congregational Membership (thearda.com).

Map of Churches in Lamar County. The Association of Religion Data Archives | Community Profile (nazarene.org).

Cross on the Side of the Road Marking a Death from a Car Accident. 1657 MS-589, Purvis, Mississippi | Instant Street View

Cross right off of Main Street in Purvis. 198 Main St, Purvis, Mississippi | Instant Street View

Legacy Subdivision in Oak Grove. Legacy Blvd, Purvis, Mississippi | Instant Street View

Home Flying Israeli Flag on Cole Road. 287 Cole Rd, Hattiesburg, Mississippi | Instant Street View

House with a cross on the front porch. 607 Cox Ave, Hattiesburg, Mississippi | Instant Street View.

There are many different religions in the United States, and Lamar County holds a number of those. The majority of churches are around towns, and the city of Hattiesburg. The geography of religion in Lamar County is divided by the rural towns and the Oak Grove/Hattiesburg area.

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives, in 2010, Lamar County had a population of fifty-five thousand six hundred and fifty-eight. Fifty-three percent of the people, thirty thousand, belong to a religion. There are eight major religious bodies in Lamar County that are listed on the table. This county reinforces the argument the geography textbook for my class made: that the Protestant religions spread strongly into the United States. The largest religion is Baptist with twenty-five thousand. The second largest is Methodist with about three thousand. The Baptists outnumber the other religions by far in the county. The rural areas seem to attend churches in towns like Purvis, Lumberton, Sumrall, Baxterville, and Oak Grove/Hattiesburg area. The smaller towns seem to have Baptists, Methodists, and Pentecostal churches. The Oak Grove/Hattiesburg area is still dominated by Baptist churches, but it has others that the rural areas do not have like Seventh Day Adventists, Lutherans, and others. The small towns only seem to have the Baptists, Methodists, and Pentecostals, and only one Catholic church, the only Catholic Church in the county, outside Lumberton and one Seventh Day Adventists outside Purvis are the exceptions. Any other denominations lay in the Oak Grove/Hattiesburg area.

There is religion and religious aspects all around. Churches are not the only religious buildings and symbols that are around us, but others are as well. There are five images above that show this. The first is the image of a cross on the side of the road. This marks the spot where someone passed away in a car accident, and it is common for crosses to be put up in these spots. The second image is a cross that stands upon a small pole. The cross lights up at night, and it is located off of Main Street in Purvis next to the railroad tracks. Some Religions can have architectural styles, and some religions have created styles and layouts of communities. Some communities in the early United States and colonial period had houses and buildings lined up with a church at the end and center. The third image, not focusing on the church itself, shows how this layout has influenced the Legacy subdivision in Oak Grove. This subdivision shows the influence religion has had on designs of certain housing developments. The fourth image shows an Israeli flag flying at a home on Cole Road. This leads to the assumption that the resident or residents belong to the religion of Judaism. The final image is a wooden cross that someone has on their front porch. These show some of the different symbols and representation of religion in the county.

Lamar County is dominated by the Baptist religion, and the county has three main religious groups that dominate the rural towns and areas while the Oak Grove/Hattiesburg area has a little more diversity. There are also all sorts of religious influences and symbols, without counting the churches themselves, in Lamar County.

Instant Street View. Legacy Blvd, Purvis, Mississippi | Instant Street View. Accessed October 2, 2022.

Instant Street View. 198 Main St, Purvis, Mississippi | Instant Street View. Accessed October 2, 2022.

Instant Street View. 1657 MS-589, Purvis, Mississippi | Instant Street View. Accessed October 2, 2022.

Instant Street View. 607 Cox Ave, Hattiesburg, Mississippi | Instant Street View. Accessed October 2, 2022.

Instant Street View. 287 Cole Rd, Hattiesburg, Mississippi | Instant Street View. Accessed October 2, 2022.

The Association of Religion Data Archives. Lamar County, Mississippi - County Membership Report (2010). Congregational Membership (thearda.com). Accessed October 2, 2022.

The Association of Religion Data Archives (Interactive GIS Maps). The Association of Religion Data Archives | Community Profile (nazarene.org). Accessed October 2, 2022.