Love it kat. Thanks.

The Klan was never anything religious except in the minds of the members, and in that sense they have a dogma, an entire catechism of sorts, and are quite similar to any other church. The interpretation of the bible and what it means is so bizarre that it can only make sense as religion if you step back and say, "Okay, here's what they believe, now how can I fit the bible into it?"

Started just after the CW, its first real leader was Nathan Bedford Forrest, a confederate general and cavalry officer of great renown. It has been most active and popular whenever racial and ethnic changes have begun to occur.....and not just in the south! The small towns in the midwest were hotbeds of Klan activity and some still are. And remember, the focus in the 20's was more toward the Jewish than the blacks, because they were the threat economically. There were many klaverns then with huge memberships and it was then that the idea was pawned off that it was no more than a social club.

Hit the library folks, there is some great stuff in print. Much of what you find on the web is written by current neo-nazi/white supremacists and is couched in a form of bigotspeak that requires some interpretation, to say the least.

Spaw