Mr. Maoz is a good man whom I admire, but it took him a little while to get to the matter of Biblical Fundamentalism. This should have been stressed more, except that the article is about Jews in the South, and the South was not always the Bible Belt (originally, New England was). It is ironic that Orthodox Judaism is probably the most Fundamentalist religion in the entire family of "Biblical religions," yet this remains largely unknown. It is the only religion that insists that the Torah was written by G-d prior to Creation and was the "logos" through which the world was created, and that this Torah was dictated to Moses letter for letter. Similarly (aside from some modernity-influenced "orthoprax" philosophies) everything in the Torah is accepted as literal history, though the Torah does not necessarily narrate the events chronologically. There are times I want to pull the few remaining hairs out of my head at my people's own "Babylonian captivity" to chr*stianity when Judaism/Noachism would be so much more appropriate. Oh well. There is a small yet growing Southern Noachide movement (most contemporary Noachides are Bible-Belt Fundamentalists).
"Reform Judaism" might have suited the pre-Fundamentalist South, but Orthodox Judaism (especially as practiced by traditional 'Ashkenazim) is much more suited to the contemporary, Bible-Belt South with its "Roundhead" seriousness about religion ("that Teutonic Puritanism" as one rightwing Catholic critic called it).
My Southern ancestors fought against the Confederacy and I am not a Confederate. But the day may come when the post-Cavalier, Fundamentalist South may wish to indeed become an independent state. When that comes it should reject the "new testament" (how can anything "new" be conservative) and embrace the ancient, eternal Torah. I also suggest that adopting Hebrew as a new national language (as the Fundamentalist Puritans once thought of doing) would accomplish the most in creating a distinctive national identity apart from an English-speaking secular USA.
Teach your children Hebrew.
You may be forgiven one day...if you're real good.
;>)
I can see it now:
Now all y'all just hush up and lissen...the South is gonna rise again, jest as soon as we learn this here Hebrew.
ROFL