One of the key differences between the north and south before the Civil War was religion. An easy way to see this is that the North believed they were saved by works. As such, northerners needed to spread their beliefs and wanted to perfect society to bring on the Second Coming. The south, however, believed they were saved by grace and so had no such beliefs. While just as spiritual, southerners did not feel the need to convince anyone else of their beliefs.
Historically Speaking 