Question

[frogandtoad]

Originally Posted by kerrymac

I have been reading this Utah forum for a while and I am very curious.

I notice people say if your non mormon move near Salt lake...Provo is very Mormon.
St George area is about 80 pct Mormon.

I mean what give in Utah are you people that much at odds with each other?

I mean I am non mormon so that means I cant move to a mormon area? Am I going to get "beat up".
I would assume if I am nice to someone I would get the same treatment.

And if someone doesnt like me because I am non M then so be it..who give a . Stay out of my way and Ill stay out of yours...No?

Is it that bad living in Utah if your a non-Mormon?
I notice there is a Catholic church in St George..so someone is a non M.

Just my observation...I am not trying to offend anyone, I just find it all pretty childish.

Speaking for myself, I would not want to live somewhere which is heavily Mormon (and by this I mean more than maybe 60% Mormon. At less than that, there's plenty of diversity for me). At all. I wouldn't do it. I am sure there are very nice people, it's not that I think Mormons are "mean" or even that I'd be worried about my kids not getting along. It's that if they are Mormon, I don't have much in common with them. If they are getting married at 19 or 20 and having 3,4,5 kids very young (and this is exactly what happens, it's part of their belief system), then I'm not in the same "place" in life.They will practically be grandmothers by the time they are the age I started having children. They believe strongly in God and their lives are driven by that belief. I don't believe in God and find the whole religion thing (ANY religion) really annoying. I certainly wouldn't mind having a Mormon friend or two (in fact I do have a few Mormon friends) but I want to be able to go out and have coffee. I want to have them over for some beers or a bottle of wine. I want to have conversations with people who have similar beliefs that I have. Not only those people, but yes, as an atheist liberal, I'm not really looking to spend most of my time hanging otu with religious conservatives.

That's a broad overview but there you go. Nothing against them personally but I'd like to hang out w/people who have similarities to me and most Mormons don't. Bottom line.

[lolagranola]

Originally Posted by kaytidid

Nobody says that anything is so damn special about Utah..except some of us that love living here. My family is non Mormon and we certainly are not financially independent, but yet, somehow are still very happy living in Utah. I have said before and will say again, Utah is NOT Utopia. It has its faults just like anyplace else you can move to. There are some that love living here and can deal with those faults, others choose to find the those faults in another state. However, busting on Utah solely for the fact that that there is a higher percentage of LDS living here is not fair. I don't hear any derogatory remarks about the South or the Bible Belt, or Boston with their high percentage of Catholics. Utah deserves the same consideration. If you don't like it here, (in general, not necessarily you per se) you don't have to live here. If you are here for employment, unless you are military, you can find a job someplace else. I will even help you on your job search! Really.

I get sick and tired of people thinking that Utah is some Hell on Earth. Why is it so hard to imagine that some would love it here?

agree
agree
agree

BTW, my H is in sales...and has kicked ass the last few years (not the last 6 months).

[lisamikefoster]

Is that a real question?

Surely you haven't spent a lot of time in Utah or met a lot of Mormons.

These mormon questions get more outrageous all the time.

I'm Mormon, but that being said...I don't have the slightest idea about my neighbors religion. We talk, we have dinner together, our kids play together, I go to my church on Sunday, I'm not sure what they do...nor do I care. I'm in suburban SLC, and am definately the minority (religion-wise) on my block. There is no army of mormons ready to run to your house and drag you to the baptismal font or beat you if you refuse. So, rest at ease, you can enjoy our great state, you can ski, camp, fish, hike, shop, study, what ever and have a beer or a latte while doing it...no one really cares.

[Lupulin]

Originally Posted by kaytidid

I don't hear any derogatory remarks about the South or the Bible Belt, or Boston with their high percentage of Catholics. Utah deserves the same consideration.

Good points. I often wonder why the Mormon stigma is so strongly associated with the SLC area (and Utah, in general, to a lesser extent) ... and why the same feelings don't occur when talking about other cities/regions with high percentages of other religions.

I think a few things are going on here:

1. Most people don't understand LDS and/or they've never been to Utah before. I also think some view the LDS church as just a large, very organized cult. And cults have negative connotations.

2. I don't know for sure, but the way it sounds, a much higher percentage of Mormons follow their beliefs more strictly than Catholics, Baptists, etc. I've known many "Catholics" throughout my life, and almost all of them don't go to church every week, they use birth control, drink, smoke, etc. So when you move to a city that's 60% Catholic, I don't think it's as noticeable as moving to a city that's 60% Mormon.

3. Mormons seem to influence the laws and culture of Utah MUCH MORE than any other state with an equally high percentage of any other religion. The incredibly restrictive alcohol laws are just one example. But also, culturally speaking, the way everything shuts down on Sundays (or closes early). Sure, that happens a little in some southern states, but not nearly as much (especially in cities the size of SLC).

Not trying to dog your post or anything; just playing devil's advocate and throwing out some possible reasons why there's a difference between Mormons/Utah and other religions/other states.

[kerrymac]

Like i said this is not anti-mormon post..Just wondering thats all.

[cinnabon]

Originally Posted by frogandtoad

Speaking for myself, I would not want to live somewhere which is heavily Mormon (and by this I mean more than maybe 60% Mormon. At less than that, there's plenty of diversity for me). At all. I wouldn't do it. I am sure there are very nice people, it's not that I think Mormons are "mean" or even that I'd be worried about my kids not getting along. It's that if they are Mormon, I don't have much in common with them. If they are getting married at 19 or 20 and having 3,4,5 kids very young (and this is exactly what happens, it's part of their belief system), then I'm not in the same "place" in life.They will practically be grandmothers by the time they are the age I started having children. They believe strongly in God and their lives are driven by that belief. I don't believe in God and find the whole religion thing (ANY religion) really annoying. I certainly wouldn't mind having a Mormon friend or two (in fact I do have a few Mormon friends) but I want to be able to go out and have coffee. I want to have them over for some beers or a bottle of wine. I want to have conversations with people who have similar beliefs that I have. Not only those people, but yes, as an atheist liberal, I'm not really looking to spend most of my time hanging otu with religious conservatives.

That's a broad overview but there you go. Nothing against them personally but I'd like to hang out w/people who have similarities to me and most Mormons don't. Bottom line.

Well said - this is the way I feel as well. I don't think it's childish to want to live amongst people you are likely to have more in common with. It's more a lifestyle issue than a religion issue for me, a childless, non-married, non-religious, social drinker. I have nothing against Mormons, and have had nothing but positive experiences with them. But I wouldn't live in Provo or more than 10 minutes from SLC, except of course, in Park City, where I would love to live.

[dogmom]

I will tell you this, the Utah Mormons are a totally different type than the California Mormons we have known all our lives..it is different there and it is hard to live there if you are a non. We had neighbors who would not wave or acknowledge us once they realized they could not convert us...we had a couple of neighbors who were nice.

The laws are ridiculous, some things are very backwards, but then we are native Californians and more progressive by nature..I dunno.

It's a beautiful, beautiful place to live, but from our experience, it was pretty lonely the first couple years..we have since moved on and left..

[frogandtoad]

Originally Posted by kaytidid

I don't hear any derogatory remarks about the South or the Bible Belt, or Boston with their high percentage of Catholics. Utah deserves the same consideration.

I do! If you go to the DAllas forum you'll read all about people being forced to relocate there b/c of work who want to know where they can live to avoid the conservatives, to avoid the Southern baptists, to avoid Christians in general, being that it's a heavily red christian state.

Boston is very diverse. It's not 90% Catholic or even close to it, but if you check out forums in areas where a single religion is predominant (particularly in the deep south), there are plenty of posts asking for ways to avoid these people.

Which is fair enough to me, if you're not religious.

Don't get me wrong though--I do NOT support bashing anyone based on religion. I do not believe people of a religion are any better or worse than people of another (or no) religion. But nor do I think they are saints (mormon), nor do I think they are the chosen ones (Jewish), nor do I think the only way to salvation is through their one "right" religion (catholic)....I wouldn't be into living around 80-90% of any religion, no matter what it is (except perhaps Buddhism...but that's arguably not a religion...)

[kaytidid]

Does it really? I will have to pop on that board to loiter a little bit. I am curious now. Thanks for letting me know!

I agree. I think that we should live and let live. People being human however, would just let that happen.

C'est le vie.