Rodger M. Payne, UNC Asheville associate professor of religious studies, recently completed work on a new book entitled "Southern Crossroads: Perspectives on Religion and Culture." The University Press of Kentucky released the 390-page book on May 23.

The scholarly text, co-edited by Payne and UNC Wilmington professor Walter H. Conser Jr., explores the close relationship between religion and culture of the American South. The editors bring together experts from a multitude of academic fields to dissect the intricacies of Southern religion. Topics range from the effect Elvis Presley had on spirituality in Southern music to the role food plays in Christian-Jewish relations.

Other topics in the book address cultural identity from both a historical and modern perspective. The authors examine matters such as the growing power of women in Southern churches and the religious overtones of lynching, with its themes of blood sacrifice and atonement.

Payne is a North Carolina native who returned to the state after 16 years at Louisiana State University, where he served as chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. He completed a doctorate in American religion from the University of Virginia after obtaining degrees from UNC Charlotte and Harvard Divinity School.