Are Christians ostracized in Seattle? (live, health, assault)

[rockyinyourradio]

I've been wanting to ask this question for awhile and I sincerely hope the responses are kept civil. I know that Seattle is one of the most non religious cities in the country when it comes to the Christian faith. Based on several different topics I've seen here on City Data, I'm beginning to wonder if Christians overall are shunned or not as accepted as other faiths. Perhaps this is likely because of the dogmatic philosophies many Christians have.. and that many are so inclined to judgmental attitudes.

What have you personally witnessed in your work place, or every day life where you have seen professing Christians being discriminated and/or ostracized. For that matter, any other religious groups experience the same thing? My limited experience with Seattle folk is one of openness and tolerance, but I have seen a trend where people are becoming increasingly intolerant of Christians in particular.. maybe because of the reasons above?

Just a little about me.. I am a Christian "born again" evangelical. I love Jesus and always will.. However, I'm the last to judge and point fingers. I just want to love people for who they are.. regardless of race, creed, religion or sexual preference. I long to celebrate what we have in common, and accept the fact that yet we are all different .. and in the end, let God be the final judge. I have friends from all walks of life, from radical Christian, radical atheists, black, white, native, asian .. and gay and straight.. and I love and treasure all their friendships.. as long as I'm accepted for who I am. I hope there are others with similar attitudes in Seattle because I do hope to spend more time and maybe work in your wonderful city on down the line, but would feel uncomfortable if I'm singled out because of my religious or political leanings (which I lean more libertarian). So would love some input on this. Again, please no flaming one another.

[remoddahouse]

Christians get ostracized here if they're the type that try to shove their values and beliefs upon others. The city is also pretty smart, so when you say you're fighting against gay marriage because there's a few references to it in the bible and you want to force this upon others without your faith and you also believe in divorce then that's an issue. People don't typically flaunt their religion here like they do in the south. Opinions on other things, like being against medical marijuana when the diety you're worshiping like to drink wine with others gets an eye roll.

What gets hated on here is the stupid right wing/religion combo that gets generated by a two party system. Go into your average southern church and ask them what their opinion is of the President, healthcare reform, restrictions on assault weapons, etc, and you'll see a lot of universal opinions that have nothing to do with the church.

A lot of the tea party types will also whine about big government and big government spending, but when you bring up the idea of how the government subsidizes churches they think that's ok.

[fnh]

I think the notion that Christians suffer greater persecution than other faiths or non-faiths anywhere in the United States is silly. You just notice it more because you're biased, identifying as a Christian. Christians and Christian symbols are practically everywhere, just try NOT being one.

If you can't have a normal conversation with a stranger without constantly praising Jesus (or whoever) then, yeah, that's kind of creepy and people will try to stay away from you and perhaps call you out on it. Otherwise no one will care two figs.

[Transmition]

If you don't go on about God or Jesus, then people generally don't care about your religion. Lots of people go to church and simply don't talk about it further than that (which is how it should be IMO). You might hear a few comments about how dumb Christians are when someone is referring to the fundamentalist types who want to ban talk of evolution/gays/Halloween/etc, but people will tend to be more mindful and specify if they are aware of your leanings.

[angelenogirl]

I think you have your answer. :-)

[Salmonista]

You sound like a normal, rational, open-minded person. I don't think you should be concerned about your Christian beliefs in Seattle, where most people have a live-and-let-live philosophy. You'll be fine if you can embrace the same. However, if you are the type of Christian who wants to witness to others in an attempt to convert them to your religion, such conversations will make Seattleites uncomfortable and they might try avoiding you.

[mkarch]

Just remember to treat people's beliefs in the Flying Spaghetti Monster or the Invisible Pink Unicorn with the same kind of reverence you expect towards your beliefs.

[jm31828]

I have friends and family around here that are pretty strong in their Christian faith, and have never heard of any of them being ostracized. It's true this is one of the most non-religious areas in the country, but then again people have a live and let live attitude- people don't really care one way or another what another person's religion is. People are what they are and for the most part that is respected, from what I've seen anyway. There are lots of churches everywhere that I see, so really it doesn't even really feel that much less religious of an area to anywhere else I have lived.

[sean98125]

If your brand of Christianity is inclusive and finds ways to make connections to others, you won't feel ostracized here. If your Christianity is exclusive and you find yourself identifying as separate and above others, people you meet are likely to take you down a notch or two.

[kyled]

Reading these responses it seems Seattleites are extremely tolerant of all religions, including Christianity, as long as you have the same political beliefs as they do, you're willing to be mocked and ridiculed, and you don't mention your religion to anyone, ever.