There seems to be a great divide between small towns in conjunction with rural areas when we compare them to our urban and suburban enclaves, especially in regard to values, conservatism, and religious faith. A lot of that difference can be accorded to the fact that those that live in cities, typically have a lot of viable options as to what they can occupy their free time and energies towards, in addition to the fact that urban areas have a strong tendency for people not to really know their neighbor, and often don’t feel the need to do so, because they already have business and personal relationships which lie outside neighborhood friendliness. On the other hand, when we look at small towns, they just aren’t going to have that wealth of other attractions that a big city offers, such as all the various amusements or even the general infrastructure that attracts people to large cities. Additionally, even though we find in small towns and especially in rural areas that people are typically spread out further from one another, they do have a strong inclination to know their neighbors, not only because it’s mutually beneficial when it comes to protection and aid, but also because there is a cohesiveness generated by virtue of having done so.
All of this basically means that it is far easier to be anonymous and to have private space in a large city, and far less common to do so in a small town, which presupposes that people that care about their image amongst their townsfolk are going to feel somewhat obligated to adhere to the norms of their community, which readily can be seen through the attendance or lack thereof at their local religious institution as thereby being in conformance to what is expected of them if they are to be considered to be good and upstanding citizens, as contested to possibly being seen, if they seldom or never attend their religious institution, as suspect or as people that don’t adhere to the orthodox conventions of that town, which will have repercussions when it comes to how these others are looked upon, or gossiped about.
So too, it needs to be acknowledged that those that live in a small town basically realize that there isn’t going to ever be a calvary coming to their rescue should a particular adverse event come their way, so they are more reliant of knowing one another, in case they have to deal with unexpected trouble and thereby there is a real need to know thy neighbor, so that they can count upon them to do their valued part should trouble come. Indeed, when it comes to religion, it needs to be recognized that part of the reason why so many put in the effort to be religious is the sure recognition that there is comfort and safety in numbers, and if they also receive some worthwhile religious insight and instruction to go with it, so much the better.