Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Hubble head · 11-11-2002, 03:09 PM

Just saw the post on the geographical location of the bible belt. That being said and done, where would the readers here say is the most godless, reasonable places in America? I've heard of larger than average popultions of free thinkers in Northern California but that's about it. Tallahasse?

GeoTheo · 11-11-2002, 03:18 PM

If by "godless and reasonable" you mean secular and Liberal try visiting Madison, WI.

SanDiegoAtheist · 11-11-2002, 03:35 PM

Pretty much most of the West Coast. Seattle, LA, San Francisco are all quite secular. San Diego (where I live) is polarized, with the beach communities being very secular, and inland communities generally less so as you go further inland. This really is only the coastal areas for the west coast though, as you go further inland CA can be very fundy, so can inland WA and OR.

Most of the NE states are highly secular as well (Mass, Conn, NY, NH).

Tallahasse, though, as far as I know is pretty fundified - it's around the panhandle area of Florida, which is probably the most fundyish area of Florida. I think the major metro areas of Florida are pretty secular though.

Most places from what I've seen, the smaller the town, the more likely it is to be sectarian. Larger towns generally are more secular.

Cheers,

The San Diego Atheist

Carlos · 11-11-2002, 04:16 PM

My understanding is that the states with the highest proportion of nonbelievers are Oregon and Washington. I vaguely remember reading that they also have among the highest proportion of conservative (Republican) voters. I thought this was odd (would have expected such states to lean liberal); could be I have it wrong.

xstvn · 11-11-2002, 04:22 PM

Seattle is pretty secular but that only extends to the city limits. The rest of the state is woo woo fundy land. The fundies dominate republican politics and crazy shit like outlawing yoga and witchcraft has been part of the party platform.

Rep. Senator Hochstatter put forth this anti-evolution bill earlier this year:
<a href="http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/2001-02/Senate/6500-6524/6500_01182002.txt" target="_blank">Anti-evolution Senate bill</a>

Last couple sentences of the bill here:

Quote:

(8) The legislature finds that the teaching of the theory of
evolution in the common schools of the state of Washington is repugnant
to the principles of the Declaration of Independence and thereby
unconstitutional and unlawful.
(9) All textbooks and curriculum that teach the theory of evolution
shall be removed from the public schools forthwith and replaced with
textbooks and curriculum that teach the self-evident truth of creation.

The bill didnt pass.
Sen. Hochstatter was a candidate for Governor eventually stepping aside for the candidate John Carlson, who is a talk show host on the radio station that has Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.
He lost.

So I would say Seattle may be fairly secular but the rest of the state isn't.

Liquidrage · 11-11-2002, 04:24 PM

Tallahasse?

No way. Not even close.
We do have an more ii member then one would except given the size of the city, but it really is just a quirk. This is most definitely God's country. Though not really the Bible Belt, it's not that much removed from it.

New York was rather liberal but most people still believed in God. They just weren't pushy about it like in the South.

Minnesota and the Dakota's would be my guess. They are filled with Scandinavians that come form a much more secular society.

Anderson · 11-11-2002, 04:24 PM

Upstate New York is very religious (at least it is in my area). I think there are 4 or 5 churches in my town. Couple more in the town 10 miles away.

Liquidrage · 11-11-2002, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Anderson:
<strong>Upstate New York is very religious (at least it is in my area). I think there are 4 or 5 churches in my town. Couple more in the town 10 miles away.</strong>

There are 6 or 7 churches within 1 mile of me right now. And thats not a joke. Anyone is welcome to drive down South Adams street here and see for yourself.

I grew up in Brewster, NY a bit north of NYC. It had some churches, probably about 10 total for about 30K people, but nothing like you'll find down this way.

Hubble head · 11-11-2002, 04:37 PM

San Di. Man, I used to live off Clairmont behind the bowling alley. Almost moved to PB but I knew my company was going under so I went for a cheapo up on the hill.

If it wasn't for the Mexican catholics I'd say the town was clean. (No offense to freethinking Mexicans)

I ate Pascal's Wafer · 11-11-2002, 04:47 PM

No, Tallahassee is not exactly what comes to mind when people think of secular cities. There are three churches within a couple blocks from me. I don't even want to count how many are in the town itself. I wouldn't say that people are confrontational about their religion, but I also wouldn't leave a car in a parking lot overnight with evolvefish bumper stickers on it either.

Liquidrage said that Tallahassee isn't exactly the Bible belt, but isn't far removed from it either. He would be correct in this statement, since Tally is slightly more liberal than surrounding areas. However, once you get a few miles out of Tally you're right back in the Bible belt.

-Nick

11-11-2002, 03:09 PM	#1
Hubble head Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Corn rows Posts: 4,570	Not the bible belt Just saw the post on the geographical location of the bible belt. That being said and done, where would the readers here say is the most godless, reasonable places in America? I've heard of larger than average popultions of free thinkers in Northern California but that's about it. Tallahasse?

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11-11-2002, 03:18 PM	#2
GeoTheo Veteran Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Bemidji Posts: 1,197	If by "godless and reasonable" you mean secular and Liberal try visiting Madison, WI.

11-11-2002, 03:35 PM	#3
SanDiegoAtheist Regular Member Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: San Diego, CA, USA Posts: 281	Pretty much most of the West Coast. Seattle, LA, San Francisco are all quite secular. San Diego (where I live) is polarized, with the beach communities being very secular, and inland communities generally less so as you go further inland. This really is only the coastal areas for the west coast though, as you go further inland CA can be very fundy, so can inland WA and OR. Most of the NE states are highly secular as well (Mass, Conn, NY, NH). Tallahasse, though, as far as I know is pretty fundified - it's around the panhandle area of Florida, which is probably the most fundyish area of Florida. I think the major metro areas of Florida are pretty secular though. Most places from what I've seen, the smaller the town, the more likely it is to be sectarian. Larger towns generally are more secular. Cheers, The San Diego Atheist

11-11-2002, 04:16 PM	#4
Carlos Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: New Jersey, USA Posts: 545	My understanding is that the states with the highest proportion of nonbelievers are Oregon and Washington. I vaguely remember reading that they also have among the highest proportion of conservative (Republican) voters. I thought this was odd (would have expected such states to lean liberal); could be I have it wrong.

11-11-2002, 04:24 PM	#6
Liquidrage Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Tallahassee Posts: 1,301	Tallahasse? No way. Not even close. We do have an more ii member then one would except given the size of the city, but it really is just a quirk. This is most definitely God's country. Though not really the Bible Belt, it's not that much removed from it. New York was rather liberal but most people still believed in God. They just weren't pushy about it like in the South. Minnesota and the Dakota's would be my guess. They are filled with Scandinavians that come form a much more secular society.

11-11-2002, 04:24 PM	#7
Anderson Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: The Boonies, New York. Posts: 44	Upstate New York is very religious (at least it is in my area). I think there are 4 or 5 churches in my town. Couple more in the town 10 miles away.

11-11-2002, 04:37 PM	#9
Hubble head Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Corn rows Posts: 4,570	San Di. Man, I used to live off Clairmont behind the bowling alley. Almost moved to PB but I knew my company was going under so I went for a cheapo up on the hill. If it wasn't for the Mexican catholics I'd say the town was clean. (No offense to freethinking Mexicans)

11-11-2002, 04:47 PM	#10
I ate Pascal's Wafer Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 1,460	No, Tallahassee is not exactly what comes to mind when people think of secular cities. There are three churches within a couple blocks from me. I don't even want to count how many are in the town itself. I wouldn't say that people are confrontational about their religion, but I also wouldn't leave a car in a parking lot overnight with evolvefish bumper stickers on it either. Liquidrage said that Tallahassee isn't exactly the Bible belt, but isn't far removed from it either. He would be correct in this statement, since Tally is slightly more liberal than surrounding areas. However, once you get a few miles out of Tally you're right back in the Bible belt. -Nick

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