How prominent is religion and in Missouri? (Kansas City, St. Louis: living, moving)

[Alys Volat Proprys]

I'm gonna come right out and say it- I'm an aethiest. My boyfriend is a devout Baptist and wants to stay reasonably close to his family in Oklahoma, so leaving the Bible Belt isn't an option for me. Missouri seems like the best state around, but there's a few things I want to know: how religious are you guys (will 'the good Lord' be brought up often, and everywhere) and, also, how country is this state? Are cowboy boots the main accessory, and will I have to endure country music wherever I go? Thanks, and sorry if I'm offending anyone. I really don't mean to, promise.

[Ball freak]

I'd recommend sticking to the rural areas or the cities in the Southern part of the state.

[Caesarstl]

Really? The obvious answer is it depends where you live. Major metros like St. Louis (almost 3 million people) and Kansas City (over 2 million) (neither are in the bible belt btw) are going to be pretty different than a small town in the countryside which will also of course vary a lot as the state is a transition state (far southern parts are southern, then a transition zone, the rest is midwestern). Where are you two thinking of moving?

[Dawn10am]

Originally Posted by Ball freak

I'd recommend sticking to the rural areas or the cities in the Southern part of the state.

WHAT!? No, you'll want to stick to St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbia for sure. Avoid southern MO at all costs.

[luzianne]

Well, if your boyfriend wants devout Baptist territory, he will find anywhere that south of Springfield. But you wouldn't like it there. Kansas City or St. Louis would suit you better. How did an atheist end up with a devout Baptist?

[Alys Volat Proprys]

I don't know why, but the Springfield area sounded pleasant to me. What's that area like?

[imbored198824]

Originally Posted by Alys Volat Proprys

I don't know why, but the Springfield area sounded pleasant to me. What's that area like?

Springfield is the headquarters for the Assemblies of God church. Lots of baptists as well. It is a good sized city though with a variety of people living there. Basically apart from the landscape sw Missouri isn't that different from anywhere in Oklahoma. Basically conservative and religious.

[bigbluestl]

Originally Posted by imbored198824

Springfield is the headquarters for the Assemblies of God church. Lots of baptists as well. It is a good sized city though with a variety of people living there. Basically apart from the landscape sw Missouri isn't that different from anywhere in Oklahoma. Basically conservative and religious.

True. But once you get out of Greene County to the South and deeper into SW MO those counties are extremely conservative and very heavily Republican.

[christina0001]

The area I live in is very religious IMO, but I'm an east coast transplant so I've got a bit of a different perspective. Seems to get more religious the further south of highway 54 you go.

Yes almost everyone I interact with attends church but not all interject God into conversation regularly; in fact most do not. But it does come up. I consider myself spiritual but not religious; it doesn't bother me when people do this but I generally just don't respond to it. Very few people are pushy about their religion. It's really sort of the opposite of what I expected when I moved here. I thought people would be annoyingly pushy but actually for the most part my observation has been that if I'm not a member of their church or want to go to their church, then they aren't too interested in sharing that part of their lives with me.

Country music - certainly popular but their are plenty of pop music stations, rock stations, and rock bands or rock/country bands. In my experience it is much better here than in the south in that sense; when I've been in southern VA or NC the country music is inescapable.

Cowboy boots - yes everyone has them here. Except me. Sorry but I just haven't assimilated enough to go there yet. lol

I live an hour north of Springfield and went to MSU. I like Springfield pretty well. There's plenty to do. People are nice and diversity is generally well-tolerated. And it's an easy trip to St. Louis or Kansas City if you want all those things a city would offer.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Alys Volat Proprys

I don't know why, but the Springfield area sounded pleasant to me. What's that area like?

Springfield might suit the two of you well. Plenty of Baptist churches in and around the city while trying to become more "progressive," "celebrating its diversity" et al. Meanwhile, cowboy boots are hardly de rigueur.