A religious heritage trail in southeast Tennessee allows visitors to trace the roots of faith in the area.

The stops include the Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, where the Scopes evolution trial took place; the Children’s Holocaust Memorial in Whitwell; and the Church of God International Office – with its prayer plaza, garden and per­petual flame – in Cleveland.

But the real beauty of this trail, estab­lished in 2006, lies in its flexibility and diversity. Visitors can choose their own routes based on their particular interests.

“We’re definitely in the Bible Belt, and we’re hoping to give people a better idea of what that means,” says Susan Goldblatt, director of the Southeast Tennessee Tourism Association. “Different people see the trail in different ways, depending on how they want to experience it. And that’s what we wanted.”

The On the Glory Land Road trail includes approximately 90 sites, about 20 of which are related to the Pentecostal religion that was founded near Coker Creek. A brochure about the religious trail is available at various visitors’ centers and at www.southeasttennessee.com. The Web site also includes infor­mation about prominent religious personalities from the area.

The driving tour can be organized by geographic location or by denomination and theme.

“We’ve just finished installing inter­pretive signs with photographs and text at 23 of the sites,” Goldblatt says.

Tracking the number of visitors is difficult, she says, but at least one state visitors’ center reports that it goes through a case of On the Glory Land Road brochures each week.

“We’ve had a huge response in general from people across the country and even internationally,” Goldblatt says. “It just shows you the interest there is in religion, particularly historical and heritage sites.”

A separate brochure describing the denominationally specific Pentecostal Heritage Trail also is available.