In my post of 7/7/15 I queried Henderson's apparent lack of ability, at the age of 80, to remember any of his ballad repertoire, this, in subsequent posts has been shown to be incorrect as he apparently remembered a few ballads at that time.
The main reason for my post, as someone who came late in life to discover the value of what I had memorized from oral transmission before the age of 30, was the believe that in later life memories acquired in ones formative years are those which are most to the fore in advanced life.
I am not sure of the religious mores of Henderson's area but as a descendant of the hill folk in rural South West Scotland, an area that knew all about religious persecution by the Crown from the 17th. C. I can be fairly certain that religion did not hinder the oral transmission by a rural people of secular songs and ballads, many of a risqué nature.
To name but a few:---
Kissed Yestreen
The Bonny Hind
Sheath and Knife
John Anderson My Jo
The Taylor
The Ingram Servant Lass
She Wadna Dae It
Etc-Etc.