Something I learned from my father, when he was quite old—I don't understand why he never mentioned it earlier:

My grandparents—his parents—were clog dancers when they were young. They regularly attended dances and danced to entertain others, not just to amuse themselves. I don't know if they were ever paid for dancing—probably not, I'm thinking. Anyway, he said they gave up dancing when they decided to "settle down" and raise a family, and apparently never danced again. My father said he never saw them dance.

This was in western Kentucky. I don't know what religion they belonged to; probably some type of Baptist. Dad also said that at some point his father had a "falling out" with the elders of the local church. He had recently cleared some land for farming, and they wanted him to donate lumber to build a new church. He refused—he needed to sell the lumber to pay for the land. Consequently, they were no longer churchgoers by the time my father was growing up. I don't think my father ever attended church regularly until my mother started making him go. He did hold some rather primitive religious beliefs, however.

There are lots of religious sects that disapprove of dancing. Even in southern Minnesota, my wife grew up in a small town where the only church was a conservative brand of Lutheran—Missouri Synod probably. The local high school never held dances—such was the influence of the local pastor. Things got more liberal later.