--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: South Carolina is not a state; it is a…" description: "\"South Carolina is not a state; it is a cult.\" — Pat Conroy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25e/pat-conroy-768_carolina_south-carolina-is-not-a-state-it-is-a-cu_1738291.jpg" --- # South Carolina is not a state; it is a cult. ![“South Carolina is not a state; it is a cult.” quote by Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25e/pat-conroy-768_carolina_south-carolina-is-not-a-state-it-is-a-cu_1738291.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25e/pat-conroy-768_carolina_south-carolina-is-not-a-state-it-is-a-cu_1738291.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25e/pat-conroy-768_carolina_south-carolina-is-not-a-state-it-is-a-cu_1738291.jpg) > “South Carolina is not a state; it is a cult.” [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. South Carolina's intense cultural identity makes it feel like a cult rather than a typical state. **In simple terms:** South Carolina feels cultish. Key Takeaway Respect regional distinctiveness. Themes culture identity regionalism Mood reflective curious Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - tourism - relocation decisions - political analysis - community building Key Concepts collective identity social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - What defines a cultural cult? - How does regional pride shape politics? A Different Perspective Broad generalization may ignore diversity within the state. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carolina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carolina/) [Carolina State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carolina-state-1493468/) [Cult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cult/) [Pat-conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pat-conroy-140847/) [South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south/) [South carolina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south-carolina/) [State Cult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-cult-1495940/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) ## Related quotes > [I made a ridiculous statement when I first went to North Carolina State. I said I know basketball down there was like life or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-valvano/i-made-a-ridiculous-statement-when-i-first-went-to-north-carolina/) [Jim Valvano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-valvano/) > [I'm a person who has a deep love for the state of North Carolina. Why? Because the state of North Carolina has been doggone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-robinson/i-m-a-person-who-has-a-deep-love-for-the-state-of-north-carolina-why/) [Mark Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-robinson/) > [“Perfect doesn't just mean happy. Perfect can have lots of different parts. - Niles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/perfect-doesn-t-just-mean-happy-perfect-can-have-lots-of-different/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“When we cuss each other out, call each other the vilest names on earth, and put each other down with thoughtless cruelty, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/when-we-cuss-each-other-out-call-each-other-the-vilest-names-on-earth/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“There was a time when a new deputy tried to teach Mr. Fruit about the difference between a red and a green light, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/there-was-a-time-when-a-new-deputy-tried-to-teach-mr-fruit-about-the/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [Red Hook Road made me happy, and happy to be alive. It took me out of my home on the coast of South Carolina,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/red-hook-road-made-me-happy-and-happy-to-be-alive-it-took-me-out-of/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [When I bought a collection of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, I returned home with a bright enthusiasm to begin the long march into the Russian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/when-i-bought-a-collection-of-tolstoy-and-dostoyevsky-i-returned-home/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [To describe our growing up in the lowcountry of South Carolina, I would have to take you to the marsh on a spring day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/to-describe-our-growing-up-in-the-lowcountry-of-south-carolina-i/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [Here's what I love: when a great writer turns me into a Jew from Chicago, a lesbian out of South Carolina, or a black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/here-s-what-i-love-when-a-great-writer-turns-me-into-a-jew-from/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [The University of South Carolina has always played a role in my life and the intellectual life of South Carolina.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/the-university-of-south-carolina-has-always-played-a-role-in-my-life/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [I received orders from Congress to proceed to Charleston in South Carolina, for the purpose of Co'operating with General Lincoln in the defense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-whipple/i-received-orders-from-congress-to-proceed-to-charleston-in-south/) [Abraham Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-whipple/) > [We were in Greenville, South Carolina, where he lived, and he was coming the next day to the show, but he passed away the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-michaels/we-were-in-greenville-south-carolina-where-he-lived-and-he-was-coming/) [Bret Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-michaels/) > [Well, I'm from the South originally. I grew up in South Carolina definitely learning about manners and being proper and having to go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-camp/well-i-m-from-the-south-originally-i-grew-up-in-south-carolina/) [Anna Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-camp/) > [I believe that many lives around us now can reflect this strange pattern of migration and movement. The question is: are we aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-dawes/i-believe-that-many-lives-around-us-now-can-reflect-this-strange/) [Kwame Dawes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-dawes/) > [South Carolina, as a matter of compromise, displays the Confederate flag on a flagpole in front of the state capitol. Because I grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edwards/south-carolina-as-a-matter-of-compromise-displays-the-confederate/) [John Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edwards/) ## More by Pat Conroy > [A recipe is a story that ends with a good meal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/a-recipe-is-a-story-that-ends-with-a-good-meal/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [Except for memory, time would have no meaning at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/except-for-memory-time-would-have-no-meaning-at-all/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [It's an article of faith that the novels I've loved will live inside me forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/it-s-an-article-of-faith-that-the-novels-i-ve-loved-will-live-inside/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“my folks wouldn't read a book if you put a gun to their dicks. but they read people all day long and always get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/my-folks-wouldn-t-read-a-book-if-you-put-a-gun-to-their-dicks-but/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [Cameras are a lifesaver for very shy people who have nowhere else to hide. Behind a lens they can disguise the fact that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/cameras-are-a-lifesaver-for-very-shy-people-who-have-nowhere-else-to/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [Carolina beach music," Dupree said, coming up on the porch. "The holiest sound on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/carolina-beach-music-dupree-said-coming-up-on-the-porch-the-holiest/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“My memory often seems like a city of exiled poets afire with the astonishment of language, each believing in the integrity of his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/my-memory-often-seems-like-a-city-of-exiled-poets-afire-with-the/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“We began our life together at a moment of natural self-pity and defeat that left an inimitable impression on both of us. The rejection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/we-began-our-life-together-at-a-moment-of-natural-self-pity-and/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“I always liked your piety, Jack.” “I’m a lot cuter than the women of your generation,” Betsy said, playing up to Capers and Mike.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/i-always-liked-your-piety-jack-i-m-a-lot-cuter-than-the-women-of-your/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“From the beginning I've searched out those writers unafraid to stir up the emotions, who entrust me with their darkest passions, their most indestructible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/from-the-beginning-i-ve-searched-out-those-writers-unafraid-to-stir/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“My mother's voice and my father's fists are two bookends of my childhood, and they form the basis of my art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/my-mother-s-voice-and-my-father-s-fists-are-two-bookends-of-my/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“Over the years, my church gave me passage into a menagerie of exotic words unknown in the South: "introit," "offertory," "liturgy," "movable feast," "the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/over-the-years-my-church-gave-me-passage-into-a-menagerie-of-exotic/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“I have built a city from the books I've read. A good book sings a a timeless music that is heard in the choir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/i-have-built-a-city-from-the-books-i-ve-read-a-good-book-sings-a-a/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“Time moves funny and it's hard to pin down. Occasionally, time offers you a hundred opportunities to do the right thing. Sometimes, it gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/time-moves-funny-and-it-s-hard-to-pin-down-occasionally-time-offers/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“I take it as an article of faith that the novels I've loved will live inside me forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/i-take-it-as-an-article-of-faith-that-the-novels-i-ve-loved-will-live/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) [Explore all 371 Pat Conroy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) ## More Carolina quotes > [South Carolina, as a matter of compromise, displays the Confederate flag on a flagpole in front of the state capitol. Because I grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edwards/south-carolina-as-a-matter-of-compromise-displays-the-confederate/) [John Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edwards/) > [Carolina beach music," Dupree said, coming up on the porch. "The holiest sound on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/carolina-beach-music-dupree-said-coming-up-on-the-porch-the-holiest/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [Im from North Carolina and I know now that I found the North Carolina in L.A. because I live in sleepy little Burbank, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-rapp/im-from-north-carolina-and-i-know-now-that-i-found-the-north-carolina/) [Renee Rapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-rapp/) > [I believe that many lives around us now can reflect this strange pattern of migration and movement. The question is: are we aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-dawes/i-believe-that-many-lives-around-us-now-can-reflect-this-strange/) [Kwame Dawes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-dawes/) > [I’m pissed off at my Republican family back in North Carolina, several of whom came to my wedding, but who went right back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armistead-maupin/i-m-pissed-off-at-my-republican-family-back-in-north-carolina-several/) [Armistead Maupin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armistead-maupin/) > [Well, I'm from the South originally. I grew up in South Carolina definitely learning about manners and being proper and having to go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-camp/well-i-m-from-the-south-originally-i-grew-up-in-south-carolina/) [Anna Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-camp/) > [We can embrace the idea of a North Carolina that's truly for all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-cooper/we-can-embrace-the-idea-of-a-north-carolina-that-s-truly-for-all-of-us/) [Roy Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-cooper/) > [I'm a southern girl, and I grew up with this slightly schizophrenic upbringing where I bounced back and forth between Atlanta, Georgia, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-myracle/i-m-a-southern-girl-and-i-grew-up-with-this-slightly-schizophrenic/) [Lauren Myracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-myracle/) > [“But I'll still say it, as many times as you need to hear it-I'm sorry, Carolina.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaci-burton/but-i-ll-still-say-it-as-many-times-as-you-need-to-hear-it-i-m-sorry/) [Jaci Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaci-burton/) > [We were in Greenville, South Carolina, where he lived, and he was coming the next day to the show, but he passed away the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-michaels/we-were-in-greenville-south-carolina-where-he-lived-and-he-was-coming/) [Bret Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-michaels/) > [I was about 16 years old years when my father took me to a square dance festival in North Carolina. For the first time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/i-was-about-16-years-old-years-when-my-father-took-me-to-a-square/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Then it was that the exports of slaves from Virginia and the Carolinas was so great that the population of those States remained almost,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-charles-carey/then-it-was-that-the-exports-of-slaves-from-virginia-and-the/) [Henry Charles Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-charles-carey/) > [The University of North Carolina-Greensboro has ordered a Christian club to allow non-Christians as leaders. While we're at it, let's put high school dropouts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/the-university-of-north-carolina-greensboro-has-ordered-a-christian/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [I received orders from Congress to proceed to Charleston in South Carolina, for the purpose of Co'operating with General Lincoln in the defense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-whipple/i-received-orders-from-congress-to-proceed-to-charleston-in-south/) [Abraham Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-whipple/) > [My father, Cecil Banks Mullis, and mother, formerly Bernice Alberta Barker, grew up in rural North Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-father-cecil-banks-mullis-and-mother-formerly-bernice-alberta/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) [Browse all 354 Carolina quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carolina/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "South Carolina is not a state; it is a cult.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pat Conroy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/south-carolina-is-not-a-state-it-is-a-cult/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Carolina" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/south-carolina-is-not-a-state-it-is-a-cult/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25e/pat-conroy-768_carolina_south-carolina-is-not-a-state-it-is-a-cu_1738291.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25e/pat-conroy-768_carolina_south-carolina-is-not-a-state-it-is-a-cu_1738291.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25e/pat-conroy-768_carolina_south-carolina-is-not-a-state-it-is-a-cu_1738291.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“South Carolina is not a state; it is a cult.” — Pat Conroy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Pat Conroy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "South Carolina is not a state;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/south-carolina-is-not-a-state-it-is-a-cult/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/south-carolina-is-not-a-state-it-is-a-cult/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```