Are there more Christians or atheists in Oregon? (weddings, to buy)

[Mini-apple-less]

It seems like it's about half and half to me. I'm not a believer and I'm in good company in this state, while most American states seem to be overwhelmingly Christian. I have heard that evangelical Christianity is actually more prevalent in Oregon than the average state, which doesn't surprise me. It seems like belief is more polarized here compared to somewhere like Minnesota where most people are Christians but they tend to be more private and perhaps liberal about their faith.

[Nell Plotts]

Actually I think Oregon is more like Minnesota. We don't nose into other people's religious or political beliefs. There are likely many non-believers but there are more who are religious but neither Christian nor an atheist.

[Silverfall]

I actually think the number of atheists is small. There is a large group of non-religious people here, but that is different than atheism. They tend to think of themselves as spiritual, but not being part of an organized religion.

[Mini-apple-less]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

I actually think the number of atheists is small. There is a large group of non-religious people here, but that is different than atheism. They tend to think of themselves as spiritual, but not being part of an organized religion.

True - I guess there's still a stigma to self-labeling yourself an atheist. Also yeah a lot of Oregonians are probably undecided or indifferent about the idea of a God, rather than downright not believing which is subtly different. The same is true in countries like Sweden and the Czech Republic where religiosity is relatively low.

[Nell Plotts]

Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and Muslims are neither Christian or atheists. I think close to half of my granddaughter's classmates are observant Hindus.

[PNW-type-gal]

We have this discussion maybe every 6 months or so, if you search the forum for "religion" you'll come up with many threads citing examples.

While Oregon is one of the least religious states ("religious" defined as attending an organized church or temple), it still has a majority of population that identify as "religious" and for the most part Christian of some ideology. (Last I looked, Catholic was the largest percentage.)

Unlike other parts of the country, though, there is no really strong single religious majority and hence religion here tends to be more of a private thing, not discussed casually at work or in public. In parts of the US south, for instance, religion is far more prominent in public life because you and your neighbors and your coworkers may all belong to the same denomination.

Also unlike some parts of the south, being agnostic or atheist doesn't carry the same stigma here.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Nobody knows and nobody cares.

Probably the majority of Oregonians belong to some religion or another, but they won't tell you about it. There are a lot of non-mainstream religions and non-Christian religions.

I see a lot of christian churches and I assume that someone is attending services there.

In decades of living in Oregon and being friendly with neighbors, I never knew what anyone's religion was. That includes the nice neighbor up the road that I have been told is a minister, but I have no idea for what church.

Unfortunately, we do have our fair share of obnoxious members of that church that does a lot of missionary work, trying to convert everyone to their obnoxious church whether you want to talk to them pr not. They will go away (but not stay away) if you tell them to get lost.

[Nell Plotts]

My DH's technique when dealing with those folks is to tell them that if they are willing to listen about his church and he will listen to theirs, then he talks about The Church of the Blue Dome and all its precepts. After about 20 minutes they excuse themselves.

FWIW he is Methodist.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Nobody knows and nobody cares.

Probably the majority of Oregonians belong to some religion or another, but they won't tell you about it. There are a lot of non-mainstream religions and non-Christian religions.

I see a lot of christian churches and I assume that someone is attending services there.

In decades of living in Oregon and being friendly with neighbors, I never knew what anyone's religion was. That includes the nice neighbor up the road that I have been told is a minister, but I have no idea for what church.

Unfortunately, we do have our fair share of obnoxious members of that church that does a lot of missionary work, trying to convert everyone to their obnoxious church whether you want to talk to them pr not. They will go away (but not stay away) if you tell them to get lost.

Nobody knows and nobody cares, but some of the evangelical Christians are pretty out there. The teenage daughter of one of my friends started spouting about how atheists don't believe anything and they are all subhuman agents of Satan. Apparently that is the party line in their church. Their parents are mature enough to understand that the preacher is just spouting BS, but the kids don't have their filters in place yet. Obviously, some of the adults are off center too.

As you note, most Christians are decent people who only go to church for funerals and weddings. The subject rarely comes up unless you encounter a fanatic.

[SunnyBonobo]

You'll get more "social pressure" having to buy co-workers' daughters' Girl Scout Cookies, than what/if religion you practice.