Off PS how often do you discuss religion?

[kenny]

On other Fora, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, etc., how much do you discuss religion?

This poll is NOT for real life/in person, only online discussions.
I think some people's responses would vary in-person vs. online, which would render the poll meaningless.

If you want to volunteer your in-person answer you may post it in the thread.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Never, know nothing about religion.

 

[OreoRosies86]

In person, almost never. My views are pretty unpopular where I live.

 

[needfullshinythings]

Adults with imaginary friends

 

[TC1987]

In person, almost never. My views are pretty unpopular where I live.

+1 I'm already on the s__t list here for not being married with children. LOL This whole place is Catholic. I am Protestant, divorced, childless, I have a career and I must work for a living (since I am unmarried now), and those are probably only a few of the things I am doing wrong! I yam what I yam.

 

[missy]

I rarely discuss religion but we celebrate all the traditional religious holidays of 2 religions and enjoy the traditions.

 

[JewelFreak]

Almost never online. However, I live in the south, so, sigh, in person it's hard to avoid. Surrounded by evangelicals who disregard the belief that religion is a very private matter.

 

[missy]

Almost never online. However, I live in the south, so, sigh, in person it's hard to avoid. Surrounded by evangelicals who disregard the belief that religion is a very private matter.

Laurie, move to NYC (of course I would love that so disregard as I am asking for selfish reasons LOL). Mostly everyone here is very respectful of religious and other differences. I don't think I would be happy living somewhere where I felt judged by what religion I am or where everyone was very similar.I don't want to have to fit in anywhere and NYC makes that possible if that makes sense. .

 

[OreoRosies86]

I'm lucky in that I live in a pretty cool and progressive area with a lot of academics, but there is still no escaping being asked "So, where do you go to church?" or being invited to church. I learned my lesson early, don't lead with that information. If you're behaving in a manner I find unjust, unfair, treating fellow humans badly, I will address it rather directly. Otherwise I don't get into it. It just isn't worth it. Our neighbor kept inviting me to church and worked it into so many conversations that finally I just badly attempted to jokingly cork the conversation by saying "I wouldn't know, [SO] and I are godless heathens." It came out so, so wrong and I could tell she was not cool with that tidbit of information.

Generally when people say things like "I'll pray for you" or "Jesus loves you" or "Have a blessed day" and not trying to be condescending, it doesn't bother me. They are trying to be nice. I don't need to debate a 75 year old grandmother who is knocking on the door to invite me to her Baptist church. After many years of trying to find a connection to a higher power and feeling like a failure for not getting it, I am free of it. And not only that, I am at a place in my own life where I am comfortable enough to listen to people's beliefs and try to understand them better as people, even if I know the path of faith is not one Adult Me ascribes to.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

My religious status is listed on my FB profile. It's not like my family and friends don't know, lol. As I get closer to wanting to start a family I often think of how I will approach the subject with my children. I view the major holidays of Christianity, for me Christmas and Easter, as more of seasonal celebrations than I ever did as religious. I'm sure I'll be consulting other people who believe similarly on what they did with their own children.

I may even need to start a thread here in a few years

 

[MMtwo]

I have jewish family. I was raised Christian. I would mostly call myself an agnostic with Christian tendencies. I am comfortable with everyone doing their thing.

 

[monarch64]

Almost never.

In real life, I usually politely smile/nod and let the person say their piece since it seems to be something people enjoy telling you about. I don't offer my thoughts or feelings about it.

 

[Sky56]

Almost never. My favorite religious discussions are with myself - private thoughts in my head

 

[Calliecake]

Almost never. I feel people should be respectful of others beliefs.

 

[ksinger]

I'm lucky in that I live in a pretty cool and progressive area with a lot of academics, but there is still no escaping being asked "So, where do you go to church?" or being invited to church. I learned my lesson early, don't lead with that information. If you're behaving in a manner I find unjust, unfair, treating fellow humans badly, I will address it rather directly. Otherwise I don't get into it. It just isn't worth it. Our neighbor kept inviting me to church and worked it into so many conversations that finally I just badly attempted to jokingly cork the conversation by saying "I wouldn't know, [SO] and I are godless heathens." It came out so, so wrong and I could tell she was not cool with that tidbit of information.

Generally when people say things like "I'll pray for you" or "Jesus loves you" or "Have a blessed day" and not trying to be condescending, it doesn't bother me. They are trying to be nice. I don't need to debate a 75 year old grandmother who is knocking on the door to invite me to her Baptist church. After many years of trying to find a connection to a higher power and feeling like a failure for not getting it, I am free of it. And not only that, I am at a place in my own life where I am comfortable enough to listen to people's beliefs and try to understand them better as people, even if I know the path of faith is not one Adult Me ascribes to.

Ha! Your story resonated with me quite a bit. Living in Oklahoma all of my life, being confronted with religion-laced speech, and pointed questions about my religious leanings, has pretty much been the air through which I've moved all my life. As a teen, there were always "parties" for the students at some cool/rich kid's home, and you learned fairly quickly, that they were being put on to proselytize and get you saved. In this part of the world you have to be pretty cagey about NOT saying what you really think about religion if what you think is not the mainstream, which around here is Baptist/evangelical, pure and simple, and they generally don't take "no" gracefully, or think well of anyone too different from them. I know this from being silent and then just listening to their casual speech, which they generally have zero compunctions about anyone overhearing, and which generally consists of deeply ignorant, disdainful and unflattering opinions of the "isms", and attribution of outright evil to the followers of said isms. And as you mention, letting them know that outright, usually makes them reassess you right before your eyes. It's tiresome and depressing.

So with a few notable exceptions - a couple of good Catholic friends, Methodist one, and a couple of guys that used to be evangelical and subsequently left the church, one while discussing it at length with me as it was going on - I don't discuss religion in person unless engaged first. Not worth the hassle.

 

[LoveLikeCrazy]

Well, i am not religious or spiritual - but i have decided to finish my bachelors degree (in nursing) at a local college that happens to be rooted in the catholic faith because it is a (mostly) online hybrid degree and close to the hospital i work at...and its very reasonably priced.

Therefore, i do have to take some mandatory religion courses, not on just christianity, but covering all religions. I have talked more about religion in these last 2 weeks than i have in my entire life. I am religion'ed out. 5 weeks to go for this course

ETA: i just keep telling myself it will make me more "culturally sensitive"...

 

[jaysonsmom]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "discuss" religion, but I occasionally hit like when I see a biblical quote that resonates with me on any particular day on FB, or if there is a great speaker coming to our church, I share the info with my FB friends.....but I never discuss my religion, everyone who is a friend of mine on FB knows I'm a devout Christian who respects everyone's faith and that I don't think I've ever shoved my faith down anyone's throat.

 

[kenny]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "discuss" religion ...

What I mean by discuss is discuss.

There are 3 topics we can't directly discuss on PS, race, religion and politics.
That means we don't know how much they would be discussed if they could be discussed.
I'm curious about that, hence the 3 questions.

I'm wondering if people avoid discussing these topics online even in venues where they are not banned.

That's all.
No conspiracy.
Nothing sneaky.

 

[Trekkie]

I'm very open about my agnosticism and most people around me know how I feel. When the subject comes up I respectfully listen to what other people have to say, but the moment I get the feeling that someone is trying to convert me, I quote:

"Religion is like a penis. It's fine to have one and it's fine to be proud of it, but please don't whip it out in public and start waving it around... and PLEASE don't try to shove it down my child's throat"

Weirdly, I find that most religious discussions I get drawn into, whether online or offline, involve either explaining misunderstood aspects of Islam (some people don't know much about Islam but are quick to make judgments anyway), explaining the difference between a Muslim and a terrorist (no, really) and ironically, defending my anti-Hamas, pro-Israel sentiments.

Having said that, I have been warned to be very careful at work. A much respected colleague faced disciplinary action last year for having pro-Israel sentiments and, get this, for walking hand in hand with her girlfriend and then kissing her... In public. The horror.

Bloody ridiculous.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I am also a Christian and I do not use social media for religious discussions. Like others, I may click "like" or read articles or quotes posted by others and occasionally post a quote myself, but my fb is for seeing pictures of my kids and keeping up with friends, etc. I don't do politics, either. I have friends who believe differently than I do on certain things, but mutual respect is the key to that.

I am extremely thankful that PS is free of discussions on those topics. This is a fun place to escape all the conflict, usually.

 

[SB621]

I like discussion on religion and politics. Normally I don't shy away from it but i won't bring it up unless I know you. Many people say they fall under the umbrella of tolerance or throw out that word like it is something that describes them....well actions speak much louder then words in my book.

As far as posting on religion or politics on social meeting I'm all for it. I'm not a fan of letting the media dictate what I think is important to cover. If I see something interesting I will post about it. I'm shocked how many have no idea of what is going on in Iraq right now. Out of sight out of mind is not how the world should work. And it truly bothers me how people don't educate themselves on world events but then make blanket statements...sorry totally going off on a tangent but this always hits a nerve with me.

 

[SB621]

I like discussion on religion and politics. Normally I don't shy away from it but i won't bring it up unless I know you. Many people say they fall under the umbrella of tolerance or throw out that word like it is something that describes them....well actions speak much louder then words in my book.

As far as posting on religion or politics on social meeting I'm all for it. I'm not a fan of letting the media dictate what I think is important to cover. If I see something interesting I will post about it. I'm shocked how many have no idea of what is going on in Iraq right now. Out of sight out of mind is not how the world should work. And it truly bothers me how people don't educate themselves on world events but then make blanket statements...sorry totally going off on a tangent but this always hits a nerve with me.

 

[SB621]

I like discussion on religion and politics. Normally I don't shy away from it but i won't bring it up unless I know you. Many people say they fall under the umbrella of tolerance or throw out that word like it is something that describes them....well actions speak much louder then words in my book.

As far as posting on religion or politics on social meeting I'm all for it. I'm not a fan of letting the media dictate what I think is important to cover. If I see something interesting I will post about it. I'm shocked how many have no idea of what is going on in Iraq right now. Out of sight out of mind is not how the world should work. And it truly bothers me how people don't educate themselves on world events but then make blanket statements...sorry totally going off on a tangent but this always hits a nerve with me.

 

[chrono]

Almost never, both in person and online. When pressed, I say the bare minimum in an effort to steer the conversation on to other topics. I share the same sentiment as Trekkie when it comes to religion:

Religion is like a penis. It's fine to have one and it's fine to be proud of it, but please don't whip it out in public and start waving it around... and PLEASE don't try to shove it down my child's throat.

 

[mr_kroshka]

Almost never, both in person and online. When pressed, I say the bare minimum in an effort to steer the conversation on to other topics. I share the same sentiment as Trekkie when it comes to religion:

Religion is like a penis. It's fine to have one and it's fine to be proud of it, but please don't whip it out in public and start waving it around... and PLEASE don't try to shove it down my child's throat.

+1

Trekkie's comment has scarred me. It will make me think of Ron Jeremy whenever I see someone talk about religion

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Mr. Kroshka, !

I also definitely follow the alarming events going on in the Middle East. I am concerned about the terrorist genocide of minorities in Iraq which includes religious minorities, and I am very concerned about Israel and the terrorist attacks on that country. I do occasionally post and share some on those kinds of topics, but it really isn't discussing anything. I read far more than I post. I do get almost all my news from the internet and very little from tv.

 

[mr_kroshka]

So you do know Ron Jeremy..LOL

 

[diamondseeker2006]

So you do know Ron Jeremy..LOL

Noooooooo! I had to google search it because I was curious!!!

 

[mr_kroshka]

So you do know Ron Jeremy..LOL

Noooooooo! I had to google search it because I was curious!!!

Hopefully not on the the work computer..

 

[AprilBaby]

I am very religious but almost never discuss it. People already know where they stand and no one will change their mind, just like you couldn't change mine.