M.Ted, You are certainly right in saying that, "formal religious doctrine often has little to nothing to do with the day-to-day practices and customs in a religious community--"

My family has lived in the Southern Appalachians for 7 generations, as has my wife's family. Besides what I've learned from my family and hers, I've been reading Appalachian folklore for over 30 years. I've also been reading about different religious practices for over 30 years. Except in this thread, I've never seen any reports of the practice of sin-eating in Appalachia. If you or Jayto or anybody has any information about the practice here, I hope you will start a new thread on the topic and include references that are as specific as possible. Thanks.

Kent