Living in Blue and Unaffiliated State:

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This is a very general thread, but who else lives in a “progressive”, secular, non-Catholic area? I do. What have your experiences been? I have personality had to deal with some rude things but nothing too bad. The worst is I’ve been told that you have to be stupid to be religious. That since I’m pro-life I’m sexist, and that means I must also be racist, because of the sexism and denying of their “rights”. I have to deal with being called a follower even though my area is probably 5-10% actually religious, although the census says 30%. (I’ve been to like 80% it the local churches before joining rcia) When I grow up I’m outta here! Is that bad or should I stay here? Also there are pro-choice signs around the school and LGBT day every school year.
 
It’s the world we live in, but are not of. It will be the same wherever we go.

Well done for recognising and rejecting it at such a young age
 
mr.p said:
This is a very general thread, but who else lives in a “progressive”, secular, non-Catholic area? I do. What have your experiences been? I have personality had to deal with some rude things but nothing too bad. The worst is I’ve been told that you have to be stupid to be religious. That since I’m pro-life I’m sexist, and that means I must also be racist, because of the sexism and denying of their “rights”. I have to deal with being called a follower even though my area is probably 5-10% actually religious, although the census says 30%. (I’ve been to like 80% it the local churches before joining rcia) When I grow up I’m outta here! Is that bad or should I stay here? Also there are pro-choice signs around the school and LGBT day every school year.
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I live in an area that has a large number of Catholics, but is heavily “blue”. It can be discouraging, but we have a solid community of like-minded Catholics and we give each other friendship and support. As far as the others? Pray for them. Love them. Be a friend if they will let you. Show a good example always.
 
Yeah, I try to be a friend but they are disrespectful and cast us away
 
I grew up in one of the most progressive areas of the country. Now, I live in an area that has a pretty good mix of conservative and liberal.

I’ve never felt marginalized one way or any other. As a kid, my friends would often ask me to decode a Christian belief or explain a stance to them. They knew I’d give them a straight answer without getting offended. They respected that.

I hold firm to my beliefs and do my best to live as God commands. I don’t much care if other people disapprove.
 
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mr.p said:
This is a very general thread, but who else lives in a “progressive”, secular, non-Catholic area?
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I’ve lived in more than one of the least religious cities in the United States, including a couple in the top ten. One of them was during college, so I also got to throw in the usual university culture.

I’ve also spent a few months in a city in India with a > 95% Hindu population, with most of the rest being Muslim.
mr.p said:
What have your experiences been?
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Someone flipped me off once when I was walking from the bus stop home after church. It was just some kid doing a drive-by flip-off. Needless to say, though, he isn’t as brave in person.

Beyond that, I’ve had plenty of conversations with Uber drivers who are Christian, some Catholic. The church I go to is actually very active, so it isn’t hard to maintain a Catholic community.

In general, I’d say that American Christians have it very well, even in the least religious cities.
 
I love in a big city, which is very liberal and secular, but counterintuitively has a thriving Catholic presence. It’s the law of large numbers. If you live in an area with millions of people, even if 80% are totally secular, that’s still a lot of religious people.

And it’s not like that 80% is actively hostile to religion either. Almost none of my friends are Catholic, but they’re all respectful of it and it can lead to interesting discussions.
 
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mr.p said:
Is that bad or should I stay here?
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The first priority is your faith. If another place is more conducive to your faith, move there.

The second consideration is where you can do the most good. Your good example and good influence may be needed where you are. If your faith is strong and can stay strong, stay put and let your light shine in the darkness.
 
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One way that a Conservative knows that he’s won an argument with a Leftist is when the Leftist drags out either the “you’re racist” or “you’re sexist” card. This is because Leftists dread arguing the merits of ideas, and they resort to name-calling.
So chalk up a victory for yourself the next time that happens.
 
I also find it’s helpful to avoid framing everything as a zero-sum, right vs left, “liberals walk like this, conservatives walk like this” caricature, but that’s just me.
 
I’d appreciate if the Left would change their ways and do the same.
 
I am thankful that Faith is not politics. We get very upset and even despondent when we confuse the two.
 
I agree, but unfortunately everyone SEEMS to be a die-hard Democrat. The conservatives on the other hand are varied and include moderates such as myself. Then there are far-rightists. In my area
 
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1cthlctrth said:
One way that a Conservative knows that he’s won an argument with a Leftist is when the Leftist drags out either the “you’re racist” or “you’re sexist” card. This is because Leftists dread arguing the merits of ideas, and they resort to name-calling.
So chalk up a victory for yourself the next time that happens.
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Not sure what this post has to do with the thread. Is this meant to be a goad?
 
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mr.p said:
This is a very general thread, but who else lives in a “progressive”, secular, non-Catholic area?
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mr.p said:
5-10% actually religious,
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I live in Canada and even the most conservative parts are quite secular. It’s no different than most of Europe. Even though I’m not Catholic myself, at times I’m not happy about it but at other times, it’s quite exciting because the mission field is so close. There are a number of Evangelical church plants reaching out close to where I live.
mr.p said:
had to deal with some rude things but nothing too bad
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It’s good you recognize this. It’s not pleasant but this is nothing compared to what Christians faced in the past or what they are facing in other parts of the world right now.
Even though it’s still quite a distance away, persecution acts as a pruner.
mr.p said:
When I grow up I’m outta here! Is that bad or should I stay here?
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If your faith is strong, then your faith may grow even stronger in irreligious places. It’s up to you to decide if staying or leaving is the best option.
mr.p said:
Also there are pro-choice signs around the school and LGBT day every school year.
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So ignore them. You’re not obligated to respond to these things at every waking moment.
Fads like those will wither away like the grass.
 
It’s not bad to want to get away from some of these areas.

That said, sometimes God has other plans. I grew up in a small, conservative town where being religious was open and accepted – but ended up moving to secular England. It’s a pretty lonely place to be Catholic and sometimes I feel a deep abiding sadness being so far from my family and friends. I didn’t want to stay here and tried to talk my husband into living elsewhere but it didn’t work out. I do enjoy where I normally go to mass – a pretty traditional church with wonderful history.

I’ve come to terms that perhaps God wants me here to support the church here and pray for those who don’t have someone to pray for them. As far as I know, I’m the only one in my workplace that believes in God. So I guess somebody has to be there to pray for them. Service to God comes first and sometimes when living in this world, that involves having to deal with situations that go against our faith. It’s hard to avoid that in this life.
 
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