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But it's hardly "traditional" Catholic. It is known as one of the most liberal cities in the country and there's a whole lot more to being Catholic than standing up for the Pope. It is one of the Catholic cities where it is still very much Catholic in character--but not necessarily in observance. St. Louis, on the other hand, is a very religiously Catholic city and the Church plays a huge role in so much of the city's life.
You have no idea what the **** you are talking about. Every town within 50 miles of Boston is mostly Catholic. Mass in Boston is ancient; kneel sit stand ****; I've been to church elsewhere and it's all acoustic guitars and pants on women!
OKC is one of the most religious cities for its size you'll ever find. It definately needed to be on this list.
I agree with this. At Christmas time in OKC, there are at least two downtown skyscrapers with windows lit up at nighttime to make huge crosses. And no one seems to think this is odd. In what other large city would you see that?
You have no idea what the **** you are talking about. Every town within 50 miles of Boston is mostly Catholic. Mass in Boston is ancient; kneel sit stand ****; I've been to church elsewhere and it's all acoustic guitars and pants on women!
There's more to being Catholic than going to an austere Mass.
As far as St. Louis, a lot of St. Louisans are catholic, but I think you could be fine in a city of that size pretty much no matter what religion you are.
Down here, most go to church (usually protestant), which is good, but it's also bad because people tend to think less of Muslims, Jews, etc.
As far as St. Louis, a lot of St. Louisans are catholic, .
St Louis has TWO Basilicas! Which is very cool for a US city. The Big Cathedral has the most awesome mosaics I've seen. Totally worth a trip to take a peek.
I agree with this. At Christmas time in OKC, there are at least two downtown skyscrapers with windows lit up at nighttime to make huge crosses. And no one seems to think this is odd. In what other large city would you see that?
That always surprised me. For like 6 months after 9/11, the crosses were lit as well.
There's more to being Catholic than going to an austere Mass.
Gay marriage is hardly a Catholic value.
Yes, it is true that the Catholic Church does not condone gay marriage. So what. We have this whacky new thing called a seperation of church and state and the Pope is not Deval Patrick or Tom Menino. There's no law that forces the Catholic Church to perform gay marriages. The church did just fine not acknowledging people's divorces I see no reason why it can't continue on in this fashion.
In other words gay marriage may **** off the church, but it doesn't hurt it in any way. The government can hurt a religion though. Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn stripping the Texas UUA of its tax exempt status, that's hurting a religion. Gay marriage, that's the state of Massachusetts fufilling its obligation of equal rights and treatment to all of its citizens.
For the record I feel nothing but pride that the place I was born and raised was the first place to legalize gay marriage in the US. Full legal gay marriage is, as far as I'm concerned, the only moral option in this debate.
Houston has 4 of the largest churches in the country out of the top 20, including the 1st and 3rd largest (Lakewood and Second Baptist). This is far more than any other city (Dallas looks to be coming in second). The entire state of Texas is well known for being a southern baptist stronghold, with Houston being the epicenter.
So tell me again how I am ignorant.
Okay.
Of the four Houston-area mega-churches you mentioned, only Second Baptist MAY fit the ultra-conservative, Southern Baptist, or fundamentalist you describe. The others are of the feel-good variety of new millenium religion. You're getting Texas cities mixed up with rural Texas. Houston really isn't a hotbed of evangelicalism, regardless of what you'd like to believe. Lakewood is a non-denominational church, for one thing. Please explain how non-denominational = Southern Baptist and you may have a leg to stand on. New Light Christian Center is a mostly black mega-church with a huge following. It's not Southern Baptist either. The presence of mega-churches might have something to do with being the fourth largest city in the nation and being able to support the large numbers. Just a guess. Houston also has a large number of people of other faiths. And, as cited by a previous poster, Sperling's Best Places shows that only 50% of Houston is religious.
Southern California actually has the largest number of mega-churches in the U.S, according to your link.
Source: me, a native Houstonian and atheist; Houston, Texas (TX) religion resources - Sperling's BestPlaces; California leads nation in megachurches, survey finds (http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Jun04/Art_Jun04_12.html - broken link); http://www.outreachmagazine.com/docs/top100_2007_largest.pdf (broken link)
Yes, it is true that the Catholic Church does not condone gay marriage. So what. We have this whacky new thing called a seperation of church and state and the Pope is not Deval Patrick or Tom Menino. There's no law that forces the Catholic Church to perform gay marriages. The church did just fine not acknowledging people's divorces I see no reason why it can't continue on in this fashion.
I'm just curious as to what you think separation of church and state means. I see that term thrown around a lot on this forum in support of keeping religious morals out of state laws--something I believe to be an impossibility. Someone's morals have got to be included to make laws. Interesting how even the Massachusetts constitution expresses the belief in God in numerous places including:
"It is the right as well as the duty of all men in society, publicly, and at stated seasons to worship the Supreme Being, the great Creator and Preserver of the universe."
So, how can separation of church and state mean: keep religious ethics out of policy making entirely? I think the best interpretation of separation of church and state means this: there will be no official state religion; no official religion to enforce particular practices on the commonwealth; that everyone should be free to practice their religion in the manner that they desire; there will be no persecution of anyone on the basis of their religion.
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