Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Indiana > Indianapolis
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-21-2015, 10:57 PM
 
11 posts, read 14,329 times
Reputation: 11

Advertisements

I have a question about the role religion plays in everyday life in Carmel/Indianapolis area.

We understand that many people will be religious, and that's not a problem, as long as it doesn't have negative effect on our family, especially our kids. We lived in Oklahoma in the past, and within 15 minutes of meeting a new person in any social situation, the question of which church we attend immediately popped up.

We like to spend a lot of our family time attending kids activities such as baseball and soccer games, and our experience in Oklahoma was that 90% of the conversation both adults and kids had was in some ways related to church, youth groups and bible studies.

We want to make sure that our kids will not be judged and ostracized in school/sports activities for not going to church, and not attending bible studies and church youth groups.

If we can expect something similar to what we experienced in Oklahoma, we don't think moving to Indianapolis area would be a good choice for us. We would appreciate any input, as we're trying to make a final decision about accepting a job offer, and moving to Indianapolis.

Thanks
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-21-2015, 11:47 PM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,848 posts, read 30,929,707 times
Reputation: 47173
I am from Tennessee, where religion is often brought up in public like you said in Oklahoma, and now live in Carmel. While there are certainly plenty of places of worship for numerous faiths in the metro, I have never had anyone ask about my religion here in the Indy metro. The north side of Indy and Carmel are generally more affluent than the rest of the metro and contain a lot of transplants. Religion is just something that isn't brought up unless you're the type to be up in the face on either side.

My girlfriend lives in a smaller town north of Indy called Anderson, and church ties are much stronger there than in Indy/Carmel, but that town also has much fewer transplants and the people there often have long generational ties. If you move to a smaller town, you'll probably see it more, but it's still nowhere near as intense as down South.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-22-2015, 06:08 AM
 
4,096 posts, read 11,429,401 times
Reputation: 9124
One of the nicer things about living in a bigger metro area. In 35 years, maybe two people asked about church. So different from smaller towns. It was the first thing anyone asked about in southern KY.

So many non church activities to do on Sundays and so many different denominations to choose from if you did want to find a church.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-22-2015, 06:48 AM
 
Location: Florida & Arizona
5,913 posts, read 7,250,922 times
Reputation: 7504
You're far more likely to be asked about your political leanings in Carmel or for that matter anywhere in Indy than you are your religion.

While some would consider this part of the Bible Belt (I don't agree with this) I never found religion to be a point of contention for anyone while growing up and later living in Indy as an adult. For that matter, I was the only Catholic kid growing up in a neighborhood of German Jews on the Southside, and while everyone was well aware of each family's religious affiliation, it never seemed to come into play socially or otherwise.

As a child the only issue I can recall is trying to understand why I still had to go to Mass if I went to temple on Saturday with some of my Jewish friends. I figured it should count.

RM
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-22-2015, 07:46 AM
 
460 posts, read 997,681 times
Reputation: 1217
While religion plays a big part here, which I noticed with people at work talking about church a lot, and even holding bible study in conference rooms during the day, which I think is unusual at a publicly traded corporation, nobody has ever come right out and asked me if I go to church, or where. I think your kids will be fine.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-22-2015, 10:29 AM
 
Location: Indianapolis - Irvington
143 posts, read 236,552 times
Reputation: 180
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeepman91919 View Post
holding bible study in conference rooms during the day
This is very odd. I have never experienced or even heard about this happening before.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-22-2015, 12:13 PM
 
Location: Englewood, Near Eastside Indy
8,945 posts, read 17,183,011 times
Reputation: 7290
Quote:
Originally Posted by jammwill View Post
This is very odd. I have never experienced or even heard about this happening before.
I have never heard of that either. I am surprised its allowed.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-22-2015, 04:25 PM
 
271 posts, read 456,327 times
Reputation: 360
Being non-religious/atheist should not be a problem in any major city in the U.S., especially cities outside the bible belt such as Indianapolis.

OP, I wouldn't worry at all, this should be the least of your worries during your move. Good luck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-23-2015, 07:18 AM
 
Location: Fishers, IN
4,967 posts, read 6,234,326 times
Reputation: 4935
I live in Fishers and work in Carmel. I've never been asked what church I attend or religion I practice. If it's ever been brought up, it was because I mentioned something about it first. So I certainly wouldn't worry about that.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-23-2015, 09:52 AM
 
144 posts, read 340,949 times
Reputation: 113
While everyone's experience will be different based on who they meet I have never had my choice to not be very spiritual be an issue with anyone I have ever met. My religion or lack there of has come up in conversation, but when I mention that I am not religious I never get the follow up questions of "why, how, what, etc" and I have yet to feel as if it immediately turned someone off to talking to me or continuing to meet up.

I am certain that if I drove 20 to 30 minutes in any direction from the suburbs of Indy that it might be different.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Indiana > Indianapolis
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top