Is Raleigh/Cary good place for non-believing and the more progressive kind?

[JustMeEC]

In my nearly 5 years, I’ve never had anyone ask me about church or religion.

[poppydog]

The Jehovahs came to visit me a few months ago. Often they'll back off if they see my dog, but she was unfortunately not in the house at that moment.

I have certainly been asked that question many times over the years, but less often in Chapel Hill. I do hear folks talk about their church a fair bit and see it on Facebook too.

[Prahasaurus]

Originally Posted by MikeJaquish

I have been in NC for 22 years now. I cannot remember ever being asked where, how, etc.

I was asked what church we attended at least a handful of times when we lived in Wake Forest about 10 years ago. Although originally from southern Virginia, I had spent about 20 years in Europe before returning to the USA and settling in Wake Forest. I was fairly shocked with the question, to be honest, the first time I was asked. So much so I gave a bad answer, basically staring in disbelief for a few seconds, then mumbling that I don't go to church.

It's just not a question anyone would ever ask where I lived before moving to Wake Forest, and in fact it would be seen as incredibly rude, or at least strange. Especially when asked by a new neighbor during your first conversation! It was practically his second sentence: "Welcome to the neighborhood! What church do you attend?" Excuse me?

I had some other issues, as well, with overzealous neighbors. One began taking my daughter to various church events (our daughters were the same age and close friends). I didn't necessarily mind (of course she asked my permission). I thought it was a great chance to educate my daughter on Christianity. But still, you have to be careful, and it did make me a bit uncomfortable. I never raised my kids as atheists or Christians or anything else. I let them make up their own minds, I tried my best to answer their questions without biasing them one way or another. But young kids are impressionable, and I didn't want other authority figures saying things as fact that I believe aren't true, or at least aren't based on evidence.

And just to be clear, although I'm an atheist, I have no issue with Christians, Muslims, Jews, whatever. Live and let live. Just don't try to force your beliefs on others, especially my children... I grew up Christian, most of my family is still Christian, I celebrate Christian holidays, etc., etc. I'm definitely not anti-Christian.

I'm hoping to move back to the Triangle in 2020. I did love the place overall. But I'll probably focus on finding a place in Chapel Hill or Durham when we return. I work at home and can live more or less anywhere. I don't want to be surrounded by people who only think like me. But at the same time, some of the smaller towns in North Carolina can still be a bit too conservative for my tastes. But that's the beauty of the Triangle, there are lots of options and plenty of diversity.

[TsarinaO]

When my husband flew down for our pre-drywall inspection, he treated himself to a reserved seat movie. A mom with 5 kids and more extended family asked him to move from his reserved center seat so her brood could sit together, when he politely declined, she challenged him in several ways, including “what would god say???”