"new person" introduction

dissenter719 · Post by **dissenter719** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 1:02 am

After reading a couple other intro threads, I feel the need to spill immediately. I'm a closet atheist, a college drop-out, and I occasionally drink from the carton. I'm a wife and a mother of two beautiful children (thank you), and I usually work but am currently recuperating from ankle reconstruction. Needless to say, I have some time to kill. I figured I'd spend some of it here with you all.

-- dissenter #719

Goat · Post by **Goat** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 8:52 am

Fallibleone wrote:This is fascinating. I can't imagine people including 'God talk' in a normal conversation over here. Even the devout Catholics I know rarely bring the topic up. I was at my college last Wednesday for my counselling class talking beliefs with the woman sitting next to me, and I discovered that she is a Catholic. I've been sitting next to her for two months and she has never mentioned it before. We were discussing the concept of guilt, and the course tutor asked 'hands up if you're a Catholic'. Approximately three quarters of a group of 18-20 people raised their hands. I have known some of them for over a year and I had no idea what their stance on religion was.

A conversation usually has to be very specifically God-based before people here will start offering their beliefs on the subject. In fact if someone began talking about God or Jesus as part of a normal conversation, there would ensue that most British of furtive looks between the others which says 'ohhh dear, beliefs'. I don't know what the reason for this is. It may be the desire to not ruffle feathers and to remain at least superficially polite, or that ones faith is seen as more of a private thing. I'm sure it's not because religious Brits are less fervent in their beliefs than religious Americans (mind you an awful lot of our churches are looking pretty run-down these days and the lead on the roofs is much sought-after. Maybe a lot of us aren't as bothered)

My own in-laws are religious and they know that I am not. They accepted our marriage taking place in a register office rather than a church and love me as one of their own. If my father-in-law was to suddenly start exclaiming 'God bless you' or saying grace at the dinner table I think I would faint clean away.

It is much different between the Bible belt and the north eastern part of the U.S.
Except for Jehovah Witnesses, and rarely Mormons, things are much more relaxed up here.

Fallibleone · Post by **Fallibleone** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 9:09 am

Do you know why that is?

(sorry, dissenter, I have hijacked your thread).

dissenter719 · Post by **dissenter719** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 9:58 am

Fallibleone wrote:Do you know why that is?

(sorry, dissenter, I have hijacked your thread).

Cool with me. I'm fascinated.

Seems like in the area where I live, the church-goers tend to be poorer people and people in prominent positions (store owners, school board members, etc.), but not so much the general middle class population.

The women I work with are very publicly Christian. They constantly talk about their lives outside of work, which seem to practically revolve around their churches. All their friends are from the church, their kids go to religious schools and colleges, blah, blah, blah. Everything is because of or dedicated to "the Lord."

Sounds like I should visit England!

Goat · Post by **Goat** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 10:02 am

Fallibleone wrote:Do you know why that is?

(sorry, dissenter, I have hijacked your thread).

I think partly the education level .. but also the fact that the northeast was more industrialized , and had more exposure to other places/thoughts. The south IS
starting to change, but slowly.

Fallibleone · Post by **Fallibleone** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 5:05 am

Ah I suppose that I can see how, in such a large country, it is possible for people to not always be exposed to outside influences. We are tiny in comparison with a fair few ports and industrial centres scattered around - plenty of entry points for new people and ideas. Even the most remote areas, such as Devon and Cornwall in the far south west, are still only a few hours' drive from London, much less from Bristol and only about 5 from me here in Liverpool in the north west.

Sounds like I should visit England!

Please do

. We have some serious problems of our own (immigration and attitudes to it, teenage drinking/drug use/pregnancy, over-burdened health service, etc. etc.) but personally I love living here.