Religion where you live?

[Aroura33]

So I was out shopping last week, and saw this car parked at the store.  I had to stop and take pictures.



I live in a little pocket of fundamentalism south of Portland.  There is a church here on every corner, though I've also met a number of non-religious people. Still, this kind of in your face religion disgusts me.  I mean, a little Jesus fish or bumper sticker or something fine, but this is nuts. And it was ALL OVER the car, including on the trunk and the roof.

What is religion like where you live?  Mild? Pernicious?

P.S.  Another shopper called me "bitch" for taking pictures of this car.  I didn't stop and ask her why, but yikes....that was pretty harsh.

[PickelledEggs]

Who painted those flames? a third grader?

We have fundies preach at our town center with signs during the warmer months... and we have a jewish family that drives around with a giant menorah strapped to the top of their minivan... and I've seen some stuff on the highway occasionally, but nothing like that.


For the person that called you a bitch, if it was me it was said to, I would smile and say "Thanks! " I always try to make people insulting me think they are giving me a compliment. It fucks with them and makes me feel better about it.

[Deidre32]

You're a 'bitch' for taking pics? lol

I don't get what the car messages 'mean.' haha ^_^

[Deidre32]

Who painted those flames? a third grader?

We have fundies preach at our town center with signs during the warmer months... and we have a jewish family drive around with a giant menorah strapped to the top of their minivan... and I've seen some stuff on the highway occasionally, but nothing like that.


For the person that called you a bitch, if it was me it was said to, I would smile and say "Thanks! " I always try to make people insulting me think they are giving me a compliment. It fucks with them and makes me feel better about it.

LOL! You're so diabolical. ^_^

[Shiranu]

How the hell does that make you a bitch? lol...

[Mike Cl]

the small town I live in is a small rendering of the Bible Belt.  You could chip the town away and ship it off to Alabama--give the people a few days to get the accent down and they would fit right in. The most disgusting pieces of shit politicians (hhmmmm, come to think of it, that pretty much makes up the entire group, doesn't it?) are always voted for--and you can count on the churches to all suggest the Rep. candidates are voted for.  They voted for Bush/Cheney twice and Romeny and McCain. 

[Youssuf Ramadan]

I live at the ass end of Britain. Religion ain't an issue, we're too busy surfing and drinking real ale... 

[Mike Cl]

I live at the ass end of Britain. Religion ain't an issue, we're too busy surfing and drinking real ale... 

Sounds like a great place to be from! :)

[Youssuf Ramadan]

Sounds like a great place to be from! :)

Yeah, thanks - it's pretty cool.  It has its problems, like not much work, low wages, inbreeding etc, but it's a beautiful place to live.... and very little religious asshattery. 

[Mermaid]

I missed the photo.

We are in SW Michigan, where it is apparent that the vast majority of people are some kind of Christian. The only other atheists that I know of are three people who moved here from the UK.

We live in a $20 town that has I think five churches. We moved here from NJ where things are a bit more progressive, but still dominated by people who are affiliated with some sort of religion. It was quite a bit more diverse there.

[trdsf]

Not a lot here, happily.  It's too big a city for any one sect to dominate, and trends a little more progressive every year, and has more than one active atheist group (to say nothing of a strong LGBT community).  Even our idiot Repub governor doesn't talk religion much, but he's always been the plutocrat wing of the party rather than the Talebangelical wing.

[Munch]

pretty much the same as Youssuf, southern end of the uk, not really anything majorly religious here, at least not around my area. Worst case scenario is people trying to sell watchtower at my door, your more likely to run into a drunk group then a religious one. And yeah jobs are kinda hard to come by.

[aitm]

thats one of those occasion when you wished you had a cannon….an old fashioned civil war cannon…and a kitty….a little kitty on the side of the road and the asshole slows down and stops…gets out to check on the little kitty and ….BOOM!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA….er………hahahahahahahha

[Shiranu]

I guess I didn't answer the question...

The city I "live" in (only here about 8 hours a day, and 4 or 5 of those are asleep) is just... bleh. It's a redneck town, your typical backwards... country... hicktown with a population of 20,000 but at least 6 white people churches and then two Catholic churches as well. A couple of houses that advertise as churches as well and that the end is near. Oh, and a Lutheran University.

That said, the place I really live (either work or class from 8 in the morning to 10 at night) five days a week is really laid back and nice. The town itself (San Marcos, Texas)... I can only really think of two churches, the Roman Catholic and a really old Germanic looking church (I just looked up, there are only two in the town proper and a few more on the outskirts)... this is in a town of 54,000 + a university of 35,568.

We occasionally have some people come to the quad to talk about the lawrd, but besides that its not a big deal. The best though was a woman preaching about the gospel of the condom, a satire about how if you have premarital sex and think a condom will save you, you will get aids and herpes and die and burn in hell for all eternity, as she yelled all sorts of hateful remarks at women who walked by in clothing that didn't cover all skin bellow the neck (props to her, she beat the burqa by just a bit... the face can at least be shown).

I wish I had recorded her, she is fucking crazy. Also have some Brother Jed or somesuch that is a real asshole. I really like that the Lutheran and Roman Catholic representatives at the campus come out with signs and straight up say, "We are not with these people; we accept you however you are dressed, however sexual you are and regardless of what orientation or skin colour you come from.". It's a completely different culture, and I cant imagine living anywhere where such progressive thought isn't the norm.

[Hydra009]

Mostly Southern Batshit Baptist.  Some other protestants.  A few Catholics.  A surprisingly large population of Freemasons.  Very, very few atheists, though it's hard to tell.

It's pretty common for people to wear "I love Jesus" paraphernalia.  Sometimes combined with camo.  Cringetown, USA.  Population:  Me.

Religion doesn't come up often, but when it does, it absolutely drives me nuts.  Dem gays.  Always dem gays.  Praising/invoking God out of the freaking blue for the strangest stuff.  Something mildly positive but completely ordinary happened to me today --> "God's watching out for me!"  Minor surgery was successful?  Totally a miracle!  "Have a blessed day!"

Also, the US was founded as a Christian nation.  "One nation under God" - all the Founding Fathers.  The "war" on Christmas.  God kicked out of the classroom.  Immodest women.  Abortion.

I seriously need a stress ball.