Religion: Chuck-Wagon Christianity

For most U.S. Protestants, the church of their choice nowadays is seldom more than a few minutes' drive from home. Not so in the wide-open spaces of the Southwest, where the nearest neighbor may be a rancher who lives 25 miles away and a pastor may be farther still. For many rural families, the annual campfire meeting—an institution designed to bring God to the cowboy—may be their only contact with organized religion.

Steak & Hymns. Last week the 22nd annual Montosa Camp Meeting was in full swing in Socorro County, N. Mex., the fourth...

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