lexico
Chukchi Salmon
Tolerance towards religion in the US
I must say that a sweeping description of "Americans" as fundamentalists or gay bashers or saying they are skewed towards OT values or Judaism is a bit unbalanced, although you may have a point when comparing Europeans and Americans on statistics. What I have witnessed is quite varied. There are fundamentalists, gay-rights activists, JW's, Moonies, the Mormons, and many, many more. But the general atmosphere was tolerance for other beliefs and values.
Not once did I feel threatened or called down for having different views. But if any particular individual even tried to do something similar, I always knew how to keep the friendly distance without a major conflict or unpleasant feelings. It's very much like leaving an uncomfortable conversation with, "Nice talking to ya, have a nice day!"
This was very stange to me, and it almost looked as if American Chritianity had lapsed into the dark ages. I would say the unforced (non-fundamental) kind of Christianity had turned into almost a folk religion, with values stemming from Chritian beliefs and the bible, but somehow lost contact with the source of spirituality. Their beliefs are simple and primitive.
I would say those qualities are shared by most non-Christian European cousins. For example, as noted in another post, where does the European tendency to be idealistic and moralistic come from ? Nearly 2,000 yrs of influence and education that started in Rome and other parts of Europe noted in the Romans; Spain, Galia, and Germania.
Of what little I have seen of the US, what you say holds true for many young city dwellers from small towns. If a high school graduate from a religious family/community leaves home for school or work and lives somewhere else, some would find a church and attend the services regularly, but the majority would go hibernating. When asked if they were religious, they would often say, "I'm Christian, but a non-practicing Christian." This was the general pattern in the late 1980's.Sensuikan San said:
I must say that a sweeping description of "Americans" as fundamentalists or gay bashers or saying they are skewed towards OT values or Judaism is a bit unbalanced, although you may have a point when comparing Europeans and Americans on statistics. What I have witnessed is quite varied. There are fundamentalists, gay-rights activists, JW's, Moonies, the Mormons, and many, many more. But the general atmosphere was tolerance for other beliefs and values.
Not once did I feel threatened or called down for having different views. But if any particular individual even tried to do something similar, I always knew how to keep the friendly distance without a major conflict or unpleasant feelings. It's very much like leaving an uncomfortable conversation with, "Nice talking to ya, have a nice day!"
One thing that I noticed about Americans in general was how Christianity had gone back to pre-Lutheran illiteracy. Except those few who actually read the bible and studied the meanings, quite a few fundamentalists seemed not to read the bible, but only eager to be spoon fed by the holy men.Sensuikan San said:
This was very stange to me, and it almost looked as if American Chritianity had lapsed into the dark ages. I would say the unforced (non-fundamental) kind of Christianity had turned into almost a folk religion, with values stemming from Chritian beliefs and the bible, but somehow lost contact with the source of spirituality. Their beliefs are simple and primitive.
I would say those qualities are shared by most non-Christian European cousins. For example, as noted in another post, where does the European tendency to be idealistic and moralistic come from ? Nearly 2,000 yrs of influence and education that started in Rome and other parts of Europe noted in the Romans; Spain, Galia, and Germania.
