There are lots of liberals (and unbelievers, not the same thing) in that part of the country.  My most irreverent high school teacher (history) was from the south, and was a proud alumnus of Chapel Hill (never stopped talking about it).  I’ve never gotten the impression that Bart’s classes are solely composed of fundamentalist Christians, but probably no one is more ignorant of the history behind the Christian scriptures than Christians (of all sorts).  

It’s a bit like New Yorkers never going to the top of the Empire State building.  It’s just always been there, so we don’t think much about it.  It’s a constant in our lives, we see it from a distance, we find it reassuring.  But we don’t spend any time thinking about how it got there, what it’s made of, or who the architect was.  

Actually, I don’t know who that was.  Let me Google.  William F. Lamb.  He adapted a design his firm had done for a less overawing structure in–wait for it–North Carolina.  I am not making that up.  

There are bible-believing Christians everywhere in the country, and there are likewise heathens.  But people who actually want to think about how Christianity came to be–now that’s a rather exclusive sect.  

Depends on what you mean by that.  They were raised to believe in the bible, but not to know very much about its origins.  For that very reason, they might be curious, and he’s a famous biblical scholar.  

Remember, it’s not a required class.  People who aren’t religious might be less inclined to take a class relating to religion.   Isn’t it a good thing that they’re learning something about the history of their religion?