Religion of the Local Populace

[Zuu]

A few questions:

1) Are you religious? If so, 1a) What religion do you follow or 1b) if it's a personal religion describe it.

2) Are the people you live near (as in the county, area... uh, can't think of what you'd call it, but NOT the nation) mostly religious? If so, 2a) what is the most popular religion?

3) Let's say you don't follow their religion. Does their worship hinder yours (or your lack of)? Does it bother you or make you uncomfortable? Do they try to shove their religion onto you? Do you find it hard to make friends or relate to other people when the majority are following a different religion than you?

Answer as honestly as you can. Thank you. I'll go ahead and answer, I guess, as an example.

1) No, I am not. (Please, this is not the place to start a flame war, so don't think about it -- don't post something like "hellz no I am teh atheists I hate Christians/Muslims/Jews/what have you".)

2) I would say around 85 to 90% of the students and teachers at my high school are some sort of Christian, most likely Baptist. The city I live in, I believe off the top of my head, has the highest concentration of Christians in the state. 2a) So, Christianity, obviously.

3) It doesn't hinder my lack of worship, but it is slightly uncomfortable when people assume you believe in their god, start a conversation based off that, and inform them that you don't believe the same way. Believe me - here, if you're not Christian, people either call you stupid, call you a Satanist, or make fun of you based on your beliefs (or in my case, they make fun of me for being so blind as to not accept Jesus of Nazareth as my savior).

 

[surskitty]

1) I'm not religious in particular, but I do have some beliefs that could be considered religious kind of...? I don't know, really.

2) Most people in my area practice various forms of Christianity, although there's enough of other groups for there to be at least two (Tibetan) buddhist temples nearby and apparently a mosque and synagogue somewhere in the area.

3) For the most part, no, but there're a few assholes who throw fits about it. Not many.

 

[EmeraldLeafBlade]

1) Are you religious?

No.

2) Are the people you live near (as in the county, area... uh, can't think of what you'd call it, but NOT the nation) mostly religious?

Yes, as far as I can tell.

2a) what is the most popular religion?

Christianity, hands down. I don't think I know anyone who isn't Christian in real life, openly anyway.

3) Let's say you don't follow their religion. Does their worship hinder yours (or your lack of)? Does it bother you or make you uncomfortable?

Not really. I don't care what people do as long as they don't hurt or force it on anyone. Although it does make me feel a bit awkward when a bunch of people at school, including the teacher, talk about things like Jesus and Heaven as if they were 100% true. Not everyone believes them...

Do they try to shove their religion onto you?

Not really, and they're fine with me as long as they don't.

Do you find it hard to make friends or relate to other people when the majority are following a different religion than you?

I don't follow a religion, so no. I don't care what other people believe. Most people don't know I'm an atheist in real life, and I don't ask or care about what people believe (although sometimes they make little mentions of it).

 

[spaekle]

1) Nope, not religious. I'm an atheist.

2) The vast majority are Christians.

3) I'm not entirely open about being an atheist, but I'll admit it if it comes up. Just today, actually, I was part of a conversation between a few people where one person said they just can't understand why anyone would choose to be an atheist, but I didn't feel like a debate at the time so I just kept my mouth shut. All of the people I hang out with one a daily basis either are atheists like me, are wiccans/pagans/something similar, or are very open-minded, so I don't really have any problems in the friends department.

...My family would probably raise hell if they found out though. They already thought I was worshipping Satan at some point or another and gave me this long talk about how THERE IS A GOD AND I BETTER WORSHIP HIM. :\

 

[Zuu]

then what you do is you buy a can of red paint and draw a huge pentagram on your wall. and tape papers to the wall covered in hermetic scripts.

 

[Retsu]

1. Not in the least.
2. I believe you may be looking for the word "region." And yes, definitely; a lovely little thing called Christianity dominates the lifestyles of many people here. (It annoys me to no end, frankly.) This also reflects in the area politically - I've seen one "Obama/Biden" sign in my neighborhood and literally dozens of "McCain/Palin" signs. Maybe this is because the Obama supporters are less obnoxious about it. I can only hope.
3. If it does, I don't really care enough to notice. People know I'm openly an atheist and I probably come off as bitter towards the idea of religion - which, in all honestly, is probably true. One thing I find interesting is that most of my peers who consider themselves religious do not actually care all that much about religion; generally, people stay pretty open to people of other beliefs.

 

[OrangeAipom]

1) No. I call myself atheist, but I'll change to ignostic when I feel like actually thinking about it. Most of the time, I don't.
2) I don't pay attention.
3) No, because I don't think about it.

 

[Ayame]

1) Are you religious?
Well, yes. Pretty much Christianity, but I'm up to interpretations, and it's pretty bizarre. I don't really go to church.
2) Christianity. A branch that seems more.. fundamental than mine.
3) Well, I do, but my Christianity is sort of different than theirs. It makes me feel awkward because a heck of a lot of people are conservative and stuff, sometimes homophobic. And my friends tend to be not really religious or atheists. Sometimes I don't ask; it's their choice and it's personal. I think that anyone who wants to be religious should be what they want, but some people just aren't religious. That's their personal choice, not yours.

 

[Vladimir Putin's LJ]

1) yeah totally russian orthodox No, I'm an atheist.

2) According to polls, 40% of all Belgians are not religious. I'm inclined to believe this, as even in my class the religious/non-religious populace is pretty even. The most popular religions around here are probably Christianity and many of its knock-off religions and there are also many Jews around Antwerpen, I think.

3) No, I don't really care what people believe as long as they don't try to push it onto other people and worship in private. I'm not very fond of religious icons like crosses, turbans or other such things because I believe this could put the person wearing it in danger if they encounter someone radically opposed to their religion, and it could offend others.
I don't wear a Darwin fish everywhere I go, for example.
Only one of my good friends is Christian, but she believes in evolution, equal rights for all and other sensible things. I think she's religious only because her parents are, too.
The only religious person I have trouble with is a Protestant girl in my class who's a close-minded bitch.

 

[Harlequin]

1) I'm not religious. 2) I think most people here default to "Christian" even if they've never been to church/actually though about their beliefs. 3) My lack of belief isn't hindered because people around here aren't particularly religious even if they profess a belief in some form of god.

 

[GameFreakerZero]

1) No.

2) Are the people you live near (as in the county, area... uh, can't think of what you'd call it, but NOT the nation) mostly religious? Yes.

2a) A guesstimate on my part would place the populace of my school at about 50% Muslim, 40% Christian, 10% other.

3) No, pretty much the only 'uncomfortable' things that occur are some spontaneous arguments about whether homosexuality is right or not, which I've generally tried to avoid getting into.

 

[Zeph]

1) No.
2) No.
3) Obviously not.

Simplicity :D

 

[Minish]

1) I wouldn't say so. I'm not theist, and I'm not atheist because I find it way too narrow-minded. I do have a few personal bits and bobs in my head... but they're more like theories, or little private religious things I have.
But really, I neither believe nor disbelieve in any religion, really. I AM fond of the idea that the only 'god' is the Earth/Mother Nature etc., and also that there are many different gods/spirits inside things etc. trees, animals etc.

Also the religion in Chronicles of Ancient Darkness is just awesome. 8D

2) No. It's considered a little unusual if you're a Christian, and it would be considered very strange if you were of another religion. I imagine if anyone came out in the open that they were religious, especially not Christianity, they'd get a lot of 'innocent', sarcastic annoying questions.

3) Nope. I don't have a problem with people who have been raised as say, Christians, and then are confused when it turns out that not everyone is Christian after all. If they truly aren't moronic... morons, I don't REALLY mind it when people 'push' religion on you if they really are actually intelligent... and just really do believe they're right. I do however have a problem with religious people campaigning against things like say, same-sex marriages on the basis of their religion. That's just ridiculous~

It wouldn't make me uncomfortable, either; as long as people keep their religions to themselves and accept that other people don't share their ideas and that it's in THEIR head, not someone ELSE'S head and it's unfair to try and tell them their ideas, then that's fine. I can't really make much of a comment here, having not had the experience of being surrounded by lots of religion. It seems really strange to me that more than about 5-10% would be religious. XD

Equally, I hate atheists that proclaim that all religion is rubbish and they're all wrong. You're just as bad as the religious people that try to shove their holy books down your gob. D<

 

[Jetx]

1) Are you religious?
No

2) Are the people you live near (as in the county, area... uh, can't think of what you'd call it, but NOT the nation) mostly religious?

Not really. Only a couple of my friends come from religious families, and that would be Christianity, naturally. Most aren't religious, though.

3) Let's say you don't follow their religion. Does their worship hinder yours (or your lack of)? Does it bother you or make you uncomfortable? Do they try to shove their religion onto you? Do you find it hard to make friends or relate to other people when the majority are following a different religion than you?

Anyone would find somebody pushing their beliefs onto them frustrating, and I'm not different. Luckily it doesn't happen too much.

 

[Butterfree]

1) Are you religious? If so, 1a) What religion do you follow or 1b) if it's a personal religion describe it.

2) Are the people you live near (as in the county, area... uh, can't think of what you'd call it, but NOT the nation) mostly religious? If so, 2a) what is the most popular religion?

3) Let's say you don't follow their religion. Does their worship hinder yours (or your lack of)? Does it bother you or make you uncomfortable? Do they try to shove their religion onto you? Do you find it hard to make friends or relate to other people when the majority are following a different religion than you?

Are you religious?
No. I'm an atheist and have always been, unless you count the god I made up when I was three or four years old (whose personal agent I was and who was "God's" (i.e. the Christian one's) bitter rival).

Are the people you live near mostly religious?
Not really. Icelanders are mostly either atheists or pretty casual believers. There is an extremist church or two, but one mostly just knows of them rather than experiencing their presence.

Does their worship hinder yours (or lack thereof)?
Nope. See above.

 

[Murkrow]

1) Are you religious?

No

2) Are the people you live near (as in the county, area... uh, can't think of what you'd call it, but NOT the nation) mostly religious? If so, 2a) what is the most popular religion?

The people I actually know are mostly Atheists. If any of them are religious they don't really talk about it or show it. Most popular religion is Christianity though. There are a few Catholic schools within walking distance from my house.

3) Let's say you don't follow their religion. Does their worship hinder yours (or your lack of)?
No, but my school kinda forces people to be Christian, I mean like, if you're a different religion, that's fine, but if your Atheist you have to take part in all of the religious stuff the school does.

 

[Tailsy]

1) Are you religious?
No.

2) Are the people you live near to mostly religious?
Yes.
2a) What is the most popular religion?
Christianity - Catholic & Protestant, although we do have a lot of minority religions kicking about due to immigration. Diversity is nice. :3

3) Let's say you don't follow their religion. Does their worship hinder yours (or your lack of)? Does it bother you or make you uncomfortable? Do they try to shove their religion onto you? Do you find it hard to make friends or relate to other people when the majority are following a different religion than you?
Uh, no. I don't make my (lack of) religion obvious to everyone I meet, so it doesn't hinder me whatsoever. If it did I'd simply not talk to those people. :S

 

[Cryssie]

1) No. Very atheist. Am probably a tad bitter about religion, like AK.

2) Nah. Maybe I just don't get out enough (quite possible), but while some flavour of Christianity - probably Catholic - is probably most widespread on paper, I'm not sure I've ever met very many people who truly gave a monkeys.

3) Their worship doesn't hinder my lack of, no. Well, actually... school masses and prayer (and the way they'd bring religion into everything) used to bug the hell out of me, if that counts. Pushing religion on me is one very effective way to infuriate me.

In terms of how religious beliefs affect my ability to relate to others, hmm. I don't exactly ask everyone I meet what they believe, so usually I don't even know what they believe. If I know someone is (or isn't) religious, I can't help but make certain judgements based on that (very generally: "religious" makes me think "weak-minded", "atheist" makes me think "free-thinker") - in the context of what else I know about the person and depending on how fanatical they are about it, of course.

 

[opaltiger]

I'm not atheist because I find it way too narrow-minded.

I'm sorry, I have to address this. the only thing "atheism" means is lack of belief in a god. Nothing else. How is this supposed to be narrow-minded at all?

Anyway.

1. No.
2. I have no idea. I am pretty oblivious about such things and tend to assume everyone is atheist, too (which has yet to land me in trouble). Somewhere around 35% of Slovenians are nonreligious, too.
3. See above.

 

[Music Dragon]

1) Are you religious? If so, 1a) What religion do you follow or 1b) if it's a personal religion describe it.

I'm technically an agnostic, although I prefer to call myself "atheist". The thing is, God might exist for all I know, but He almost surely doesn't.

2) Are the people you live near (as in the county, area... uh, can't think of what you'd call it, but NOT the nation) mostly religious? If so, 2a) what is the most popular religion?

Sweden is a secular country. We do have quite a few Christians here and there, and we also get a lot of Muslim immigrants... The Christians are usually Protestants, by the way.

That said, a lot of people hide their religion. (See below.)

3) Let's say you don't follow their religion. Does their worship hinder yours (or your lack of)? Does it bother you or make you uncomfortable? Do they try to shove their religion onto you? Do you find it hard to make friends or relate to other people when the majority are following a different religion than you?

You know, I've always found it very fascinating - and a little frightening - that the situation in Sweden is pretty much a complete opposite of the situation in the US. In Sweden, you're quite likely to get bashed for being Christian, but nobody gives a damn if you're an atheist. Well, I mean, most people are mature enough not to pick on you for something that silly, but it happens...

And it's even worse for Muslims. I guess people associate Islam with terrorism and violence and things like that. Girls who have to conceal their hair tend to have a hard time, too.

I usually don't come across any religious people - not that I know of, anyway, since a lot of people hide their religion (because, like I said, there are plenty of people who look down on theists) - although even if I did, I don't think it would matter much. And fortunately, the hostility between atheists and religious believers slowly dies as people mature.