General question about Religion / Church in Tenn. (Knoxville, Chattanooga: 2015, renting)

[85rx-7gsl-se]

I have heard of at least one church in Middle TN doing so, but it is the exception to the norm.

[lae60]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Lae60, you bought a house in Lake Tansi, a very rural area that is chock-full of transplant retirees. It is an extremely different demographic than Knoxville.
.

That is true, and the 2 neighbors that asked me about church are not transplants. Both have lived in Tansi since about the 1970's and were originally from neighboring counties, but born and raised in TN.

[titanspreds_04]

Originally Posted by brentwoodgirl

I've gone to church my whole life and belonged to a span of denominations, (Baptist, Presbyterian, Non-Denominational, and Methodist) and never heard of a church asking for a W-2 either.

Yeah, I've never heard on a church in TN asking for a W-2 either.

Northerners



FYI- I think people in general are very tired of northerners moving here. You will most definitely get invited to church here, even if you live in Memphis or Nashville. Also, you probably shouldn't volunteer that you are from New Jersey. This will make people form over critical assumptions on your character.

[Creekcat]

Originally Posted by titanspreds_04

Yeah, I've never heard on a church in TN asking for a W-2 either.

Northerners



FYI- I think people in general are very tired of northerners moving here. You will most definitely get invited to church here, even if you live in Memphis or Nashville. Also, you probably shouldn't volunteer that you are from New Jersey. This will make people form over critical assumptions on your character.

Not that you would need too, if you have an accent it would stick out, as much as mine would in New Jersey. Hopefully, all in jest though.

[An Einnseanair]

The assumption is that you are a Christian and will be looking for a new church home, also that you will want to meet new people. Inviting you to join their church is nothing more than a way to welcome you to the area.

Most churches do want to grow, but most aren't obsessive about it. How people react when you turn them down depends on the area. In urban areas most people will accept and move on. In rural areas you may get more of a hard sell.


W2s... That's kinda extreme. Some churches ask that you sign tithe commitments for budgeting purposes. One I used to belong to did this. They'd send out reminders if you fell behind, but the commitments were non-binding. I do recall one woman I knew in Jackson, MS, whose church required all members to sign binding tithe contracts. I don't know if W2s were involved.

[Serious Conversation]

Amusingly enough, Chattanooga and the Tri-Cities rank in the top three of the most "Bible-minded" metros. Nashville and Knoxville are also in the top 20.

2015 Bible-Minded Cities

These religion threads get brought up periodically by northerners. While I can understand some of the concern, I can't believe people seem to think that Tennesseans are constantly "thumping the Bible" over your head. Most people are just trying to go about their daily business and don't pay that close of attention to it. Expecting it to be shoved down your throat during daily business is just asinine. I wouldn't go to NJ and ask if people were going to cram their godlessness down my throat.

[N.Cal]

Expecting it to be shoved down your throat during daily business is just asinine.

Unfortunately, I have a couple of friends where this was the case. One couldn't quit the job fast enough and now works for a Detroit company via telecommuting. The other moved back to California.

The assumption is that you are a Christian and will be looking for a new church home

You know what they say about assuming....

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by N.Cal

Unfortunately, I have a couple of friends where this was the case. One couldn't quit the job fast enough and now works for a Detroit company via telecommuting. The other moved back to California.

I'm no cheerleader for TN, but it sounds like these people probably blew something way out of proportion. I think people were pushier with religion back during the Bush years. Even in the Tri-Cities, it's tamed down considerably lately.

[An Einnseanair]

Originally Posted by N.Cal

You know what they say about assuming....

Sometimes I really want to smack the person who came up with that assinine little bon mot, along with the people who still think it witty enough to bring up in conversation. People are required to make assumptions every day. If you wait until you have all the facts before doing anything you will do nothing.

Originally Posted by Emigrations

I'm no cheerleader for TN, but it sounds like these people probably blew something way out of proportion. I think people were pushier with religion back during the Bush years. Even in the Tri-Cities, it's tamed down considerably lately.

I have lived in TN for over nine years, and I can count on two hands the number of times I've been asked my church affiliation. None of those times was in any way invasive (twice were people looking for a church to attend). The only times I've been invited to attend a church was when I mentioned I wasn't currently attending one. I gave the polite, "Ok, maybe I'll check it out next weekend.", maybe followed up by politely asking a little about the church. To the best of my knowledge I never visited any of these churches, and no person ever repeated the request.

If I had responded with a militant "I'm an atheist" and followed up by ranting about religions in general, I can see how it could go bad quickly.

I have asked about someone's church affiliation exactly twice, and in neither case was I the one to bring religion into the conversation.

[lae60]

Originally Posted by titanspreds_04

FYI- I think people in general are very tired of northerners moving here. You will most definitely get invited to church here, even if you live in Memphis or Nashville. Also, you probably shouldn't volunteer that you are from New Jersey. This will make people form over critical assumptions on your character.

Although I a not a northerner / Yankee, I am coming form CA, which some may consider worse

When I was looking at places to move to, I purposely did not choose an area that is nearly all northern implants. They were / are recreating what they left and have found so many things that they think they need that their POA fees are outrageous. Although they complain about the high taxes they left up north they are unable to see that all the things they think everyone needs is raising their POA fees to nearly match their northern taxes.

I also eliminated areas that were very rural without many implants because I did not want to be the outsider / new family for the next few generations.

I did choose an area with a mix of locals and transplants. And am not looking for a nanny state with lots of benefits when moving to a lower tax area. And did not want to be the new person forever

It is important that folks think about how they would fit in or be perceived in an new area.