In his novel The Last Gentleman, Walker Percy claims that his protagonist Will Barrett lives “in the most Christian nation in the world, the USA, in the most Christian part of the nation, the South, in the most Christian state in the South, North Carolina.” While residents of other states may challenge Percy’s judgment, it is indisputable, as you will see in these images taken exclusively in North Carolina, that many Tarheels are determined to remind everyone that Jesus is, or should be, a presence in their lives. Drive through North Carolina on interstates, two-lanes, and residential streets, and you will encounter—along roadsides, in shops, in yards, in places both expected and unexpected—abundant public professions of Christian faith. Inevitably, these testimonials bump up against things secular, creating incongruous juxtapositions that highlight the tension between the sacred and the profane. So striking are these juxtapositions they may lead you to conclude that North Carolina is not only the most Christian state in the nation but perhaps the most ironic.
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