Here in Kansas, we get this kind of stuff a lot. Not from many people, mind you, but a very vocal and scared minority. Usually it's people from rural areas who haven't been exposed to other cultures. Some think Yoga is a religion, that yin-yang symbols are Satanic, that Buddhism is an affront to Christianity, all sorts of crazy stuff.
A former friend would freak out in a religious way about statues of goats, certain Halloween costumes, long hair on men, etc. Her parents both had PhDs, by the way. Education doesn't always cure the terminally kooky.
I could very well have used the wrong word, so let me explain. Please bear in mind I'm not Christian and have never been to church, so I could be misunderstanding what I'm seeing.
Most Christian churches I've been exposed to have a certain respect and tolerance for some non-Christian religions. Last month a local Catholic church and school had holiday signs up for both Christmas and Hanukkah, for example.
However, these same churches (and their members) balk at other religions, I think ones which are most prevalent in Asian and/or Middle Eastern countries. The local Islamic center gets nasty propaganda glued to its outer walls and is constantly blamed as the source of evil in our town. (I think the real source of evil is the Taco Bell next door). Many otherwise sane people will tell me Buddhism in all its forms is devil worship. Not the worship of the wrong deity, mind you, but the actual worship of Satan himself. I've known Buddhists at work who were asked to hide their religious affiliation, and on two separate occasions heard Christian women declare sushi was the product of the devil. Their reasoning: Sushi = Asian = Buddhism = Satan.
My comment about it being an "affront" may not have been the proper way to express this situation.
Kansas is the home of that awful "baptist" church that harrasses funerals of dead servicemen from the war who died because we're not killing all the gays. Scary people.
Texas has spawned a number of religious madmen (Koresh is most prominent), as has Indiana, where I come from originally (Jim Jones, Charles Manson are two that come to mind, but there are more). New Mexico, where I live now, has harbored scary religious nuts now and then (Heaven's Gate), but most NM religious nuts seem to be harmless.
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-09 08:18 pm (UTC)-- Steve once again is forced to recognise that ass-hattery is a human trait not restricted by the bounds of creed, race, or nation.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-09 08:29 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-09 08:29 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-09 08:50 pm (UTC)A former friend would freak out in a religious way about statues of goats, certain Halloween costumes, long hair on men, etc. Her parents both had PhDs, by the way. Education doesn't always cure the terminally kooky.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-09 08:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-09 10:41 pm (UTC)Most Christian churches I've been exposed to have a certain respect and tolerance for some non-Christian religions. Last month a local Catholic church and school had holiday signs up for both Christmas and Hanukkah, for example.
However, these same churches (and their members) balk at other religions, I think ones which are most prevalent in Asian and/or Middle Eastern countries. The local Islamic center gets nasty propaganda glued to its outer walls and is constantly blamed as the source of evil in our town. (I think the real source of evil is the Taco Bell next door). Many otherwise sane people will tell me Buddhism in all its forms is devil worship. Not the worship of the wrong deity, mind you, but the actual worship of Satan himself. I've known Buddhists at work who were asked to hide their religious affiliation, and on two separate occasions heard Christian women declare sushi was the product of the devil. Their reasoning: Sushi = Asian = Buddhism = Satan.
My comment about it being an "affront" may not have been the proper way to express this situation.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-09 11:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-10 05:01 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-09 10:11 pm (UTC)Texas has spawned a number of religious madmen (Koresh is most prominent), as has Indiana, where I come from originally (Jim Jones, Charles Manson are two that come to mind, but there are more). New Mexico, where I live now, has harbored scary religious nuts now and then (Heaven's Gate), but most NM religious nuts seem to be harmless.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-09 11:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-09 11:24 pm (UTC)I grew up in Warsaw, and my folks used to laugh about him from time to time.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-09 08:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-09 08:56 pm (UTC)While they *probably* eat poop, they don't come right out and say it.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-09 09:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-09 10:19 pm (UTC)