Can you be non-religious and still be accepted? (Lexington, Frankfort: house, rooftop)

[CoffeeAddict]

I'm not a religious person, but I have no problem with anyone that is. I can't remember the last time I had an actual conversation with someone about religion, it just doesn't come up for me.

Will I be accepted in the towns outside Lexington that are more conservative as long as I keep my non-religious preferences to myself? I don't exactly shout it from the rooftops as it is.

Or do people expect you to "chat" about these things down there?

Up here in the land of snow its not really a topic of conversation, but we're also pretty liberal too so I don't know if I'm being unrealistic thinking I can just blend in with the conservative folks and not actually be religious/conservative myself.

I've settled on the Frankfort/Lawrenceburg area because of the home prices and the homes with land available, among other reasons, but I've heard its pretty conservative there. I'd be spending the majority of my time in Lexington though.

[centre]

It really will depend on the individual you are dealing with. I happen to be religious, but do not intrude on other peoples feelings. I think most people are like that. Of course, you may get the occasional person that wants to shove their ideas down your throat. Lawrenceburg is a nice area.

[DisplacedCowgirl]

I did my student teaching in Anderson County (lawrenceburg), and found that although it was a conervative area, no issues ever arose. I'm actually considering moving there, even though both myself and my fiance are pretty darn liberal. I agree with centre, you may find a couple of folks who want to chit chat about the week's sunday service, but I really don't think it will be a big deal.

[Toria]

it's not a big deal at all....the most that's ever come up for us is someone asking what church we go to, and we received a couple invitations to attend a church picnic or function if we were so inclined to go. When I politely declined saying it wasn't something that interested me, that was the end of the subject and we moved onto something else.
Oh, and once someone handed me a tiny little Bible while we were at a town parade .

[teebird1012]

For the most part I think you'll be fine if you don't go shouting it out. We're located on the edge of the southern Bible Belt, but for the most part religion doesn't come up in conversation around here, in Lexington at least. Since I live in LEX, I can't tell you what will come up in Anderson County or many smaller KY towns for that matter. I think as long as you don't advertise your non- religious views, you will be alright.

[nlschr0]

I think you'll find that it comes up more in general conversation than you're used to. From people who first meet you, "Hi, what's your name? What church do you go to?" to frequent invitations to attend church or events, and even the occasional door-to-door evangelists who will ask to come in and share their ideas with you while handing you pamphlets about the Bible. Even just casual conversations about do you know so-and-so, they go to my church, etc. In general, it is a bigger influence in people's lives and comes up more in conversation than I was used to.

But, will you be shunned or mistreated because of it? I don't think so, especially in the larger city areas. I've found that many of the religions here are evangelical, with members who are told to go out and spread the word and save their neighbors. So, you might get some people who go out of their way to convince you to be saved, but noone is going to throw eggs at your house or burn things in your yard.

[Spotted1]

Sure. This is the Bible belt and all, so you should expect to be asked questions pertaining to your religious status more frequently around here, but theres ways to deal with it. When someone asks my husband and I where we attend church, for example, we just say we haven't found the right one for us. They don't need to know that we aren't looking.