The section of Kentucky where this is going on went from being Appalachia to being a suburb of Cincinnatti in 20 years. That's a lot of change for people.

It means the area is more prosperous. People have better jobs. Programs were set up in the sixties to help them prepare for those jobs. But most of the locals knowledge is practical. The big bang theory and Darwinian evolution may be science, but they are not really practical.

When the world changes as rapidly as ours does, it's natural for people to need to bellieve in something. I think this explains the rise of fundamentalism in so many religious communities today.