Roanoke 4th most "Bible minded" City in the U.S.???

[Watchful]

Originally Posted by sregorat3

Lastly, Watchful- what denomination holds that there are no absolutes (you know, on any conceivable issue) UU?

HA - I might be suspicious of any religious tradition that says that there are ABSOLUTELY NO ABSOLUTES!

I am thinking more of a mindset that can be found that can hold tenaciously to core beliefs and values without presuming that there is only one way to think and/or believe. It's a tough road!!

Somewhere between the one extreme of "all roads lead the same place"/"believe what you want as long as you are sincere"

AND

the other extreme of believing that my tradition has all truth and no one else does.

[AmyKareena]

This topic makes me a little nervous as I am not Christian, I'm Pagan and my husband is Christian and we are planning on moving to the area in Aug/Sept. While I'm not hugely blatant about my religion; I also don't hide it. To get along in this area, will I need too?

I was going to look up the UU church that's out there as I understand "church" seems to be the best way to socialize and meet people in the area.

[Mountain Living]

I am often perplexed by people who move to small towns such as Lynchburg or Roanoke seeking something they are not
Finding in big complicated nearby cities. Is it more of a peaceful existence, views of nature that is everywhere?
Of course Money rears it's ugly head preventing these people in achieving the goals they have determined is right for them,
so they move. The discussion on whether a place is a desirable place to be as it regards ones personal religious beliefs makes no sense to me. I don't think it's necessary to identify oneself as pagan or Buddhist, who in Roanoke, Lynchburg cares? Does
anyone care if you are right handed or left handed? I have never been religious but the physical beauty of this area is spiritual to me and I feel blessed.

[disastermouse]

Originally Posted by AmyKareena

This topic makes me a little nervous as I am not Christian, I'm Pagan and my husband is Christian and we are planning on moving to the area in Aug/Sept. While I'm not hugely blatant about my religion; I also don't hide it. To get along in this area, will I need too?

I was going to look up the UU church that's out there as I understand "church" seems to be the best way to socialize and meet people in the area.

People in the area are nice people. You will never be openly antagonized by anyone. People may attempt to convert you, though, and it'll make it harder to find people with whom to form truly close friendships. It's not because they're Christian - Christianity is the dominant religion where I'm from too and the area I'm from is more rural than Roanoke. I honestly think it has more to do with the Scotch-Irish background than anything else.

[NomadStephanie]

For the people who seem flummoxed by what I've said, I don't know how I could say it any more clearly. I experienced being judged, and being "fake niced" to, in Roanoke, whenever it was revealed, directly or inadvertently, that I wasn't Christian. I made friendships with people I liked otherwise that became frozen or which fell apart due to differences in religious beliefs. Casual conversations with coworkers or neighborhood acquaintances often became tense or awkward due to the frequent insertion of evangelical belief statements I was expected to agree with. I frequently had to go on the defense or opt out of a conversation. There were constant feelings of exclusion and pressure I dealt with as someone who is not Christian. Does this happen in every social situation, no. Are there ways to meet people in Roanoke who are not Christian, yes. But the point is, Roanoke is hardly a haven from this typical Southern social politic. If you're used to living in the South and being on the fringes of a community when you're not Christian, and you're OK with that status as long as you can find a few (key word being "few") like-minded folks, you'll be fine. If you're coming from a place where pluralism and diversity of belief and opinion are the norm, you will notice the difference, for better or worse, depending on your perspective, when you come to Roanoke.

[ktdid]

Thanks to all the responded so far., I greatly appreciate people taking the time to discuss their experiences regarding this issue in Roanoke. I have not been able to respond earlier, as one of my children had a terrible accident, so life has been very overwhelming, to say the least.

NomadStephanie, I totally relate to much of what you have written about, as I did live in Savannah for several years, and experienced much the same--often feeling an "outsider" because I am not a Christian. (To be fair, I experienced this a bit when I home schooled in Nor Cal since many home schooling families did so for religious reasons.) I both these experiences, we did get questioned/judged and often given the cold shoulder for not being "Christian". I often felt judged negatively, from the very folks who profess to believe otherwise. Not by everyone, but by many. And as someone who strives not to judge others, and to find common ground and interested in diverse feelings/experiences/stories from those around me, those feelings were often not reciprocated/respected when it came to my (non)beliefs.

It seems hard for some who have commented to understand how these judgements, whether directly in conversations or indirectly, with avoidance, becomes rather draining and exhausting after awhile--but having gone though this myself, I do relate, and that is why I posed the question/article.

Nomad-- you asked me why I was considering coming to Roanoke. I am partially disabled/retired, and I am looking for a somewhat affordable,"funky","artsy" place that is not too big, with some cultural amenities, farmers markets in a nice environment. (I think what many are looking for!) And Virginia is such a beautiful state, I would love to find my (last) home there.

Watchful--You mentioned Olympia. WHile I do love Oly (though the rain/gray is a bit much!) I grew up in Manhattan, until
I went to high school in Berkeley--so I don't know where that places me on the liberal scale, though probably pretty far left!

I still am trying to make a visit and check out Roanoke for myself, since it does meet much of my criteria, but I am now looking into other areas as well. Any suggestions?!?!

[Scorpio1969]

Harcore Atheist here. However I have always found religion to be intersting from a mythological point of view. In my youth I did ALOT of reading about the subject, covering many different religions. In recent years, I have avoided religion discussion with people, because theyre so touchy about it.

So, why not the simple "Im sorry, but I dont like discussing religion. I believe a persons faith is their own business" answer.