Describe the religious/spiritual beliefs of the average non church-going white American
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  Describe the religious/spiritual beliefs of the average non church-going white American
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Author Topic: Describe the religious/spiritual beliefs of the average non church-going white American  (Read 811 times)
wimp
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« on: November 22, 2020, 10:51:34 AM »

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ExtremeRepublican
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« Reply #1 on: November 22, 2020, 10:55:16 AM »

Such a person probably vaguely believes in (a) God, but doesn't think He has much control over their daily life and generally doesn't think about religion/faith a whole lot.
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afleitch
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« Reply #2 on: November 22, 2020, 11:21:02 AM »

My husband, bounced from church to church with his indecisive grandmother and time in religious daycare and sunday school found it suspect that his dog didn't go to heaven when he asked aged 8, and refused as a teenager to be dragged in front of a pastor to be 'saved'. Seeing religion as yet another crutch for emotionally screwed up adults in his life and again for some of his friends later on, pretty much put him off religion and snuffed out any belief in god. He was amazed at how irreligious Scotland was when he got here and in the decade he's been away, how irreligious his peers back home have became, eveb those settling down and raising kids.
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« Reply #3 on: November 22, 2020, 02:16:36 PM »

My husband, bounced from church to church with his indecisive grandmother and time in religious daycare and sunday school found it suspect that his dog didn't go to heaven when he asked aged 8, and refused as a teenager to be dragged in front of a pastor to be 'saved'. Seeing religion as yet another crutch for emotionally screwed up adults in his life and again for some of his friends later on, pretty much put him off religion and snuffed out any belief in god. He was amazed at how irreligious Scotland was when he got here and in the decade he's been away, how irreligious his peers back home have became, eveb those settling down and raising kids.

When you say "crutch for emotionally screwed up adults", do you mean this to imply that he sees tangible value to religion but rejects it, at least in part, because he sees it as a tool for the weak? I ask because many things, religious and not, can be described in the same manner, but few would reject them wholesale. CBT comes to mind, as does certain medications. Like religion, they do not always provide sufficient answers to life's questions but even as "crutches" they are nonetheless indispensable to many people's mental, as well as spiritual, wellness, and that is what justifies their existence, even from a secular point of view.
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progressive85
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« Reply #4 on: November 22, 2020, 03:58:34 PM »

White men may believe in a general "higher power", pray at times of need, celebrate Christmas, while white women may believe more in communicating with God- with angels, Heaven, miracles, and power of prayer.  They probably were raised in a religious community so they carry those traditions from childhood with them into adulthood and pass them on to their kids even if they might not attend church often or at all.
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afleitch
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« Reply #5 on: November 22, 2020, 04:10:49 PM »

My husband, bounced from church to church with his indecisive grandmother and time in religious daycare and sunday school found it suspect that his dog didn't go to heaven when he asked aged 8, and refused as a teenager to be dragged in front of a pastor to be 'saved'. Seeing religion as yet another crutch for emotionally screwed up adults in his life and again for some of his friends later on, pretty much put him off religion and snuffed out any belief in god. He was amazed at how irreligious Scotland was when he got here and in the decade he's been away, how irreligious his peers back home have became, eveb those settling down and raising kids.

When you say "crutch for emotionally screwed up adults", do you mean this to imply that he sees tangible value to religion but rejects it, at least in part, because he sees it as a tool for the weak? I ask because many things, religious and not, can be described in the same manner, but few would reject them wholesale. CBT comes to mind, as does certain medications. Like religion, they do not always provide sufficient answers to life's questions but even as "crutches" they are nonetheless indispensable to many people's mental, as well as spiritual, wellness, and that is what justifies their existence, even from a secular point of view.

I don't want to go into personal matters. But I respect the experiences he had growing up leading him to his conclusions as much as I respect yours.
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John Henry Eden
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« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2021, 09:09:40 PM »

white girl capitalism or etsy for you laymen
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« Reply #7 on: February 06, 2021, 05:12:32 PM »
« Edited: February 06, 2021, 05:16:47 PM by Away, haul away, we'll haul away, Joe! »

Most non-churchgoing Americans still hold a vague monotheism, although ideas about the afterlife (if any) are a lot more diverse than they used to be. Some form of reincarnation rather than heaven and hell might be the plurality view among Americans who aren't confessing Christians at this point--understandably, since reincarnation is more intuitive and more emotionally satisfying in a society where life on Earth is not an unremitting slog for most people.

I second Scott's poor view of using words like "crutch" derisively to refer to religious belief, a derisiveness that is self-evidently inappropriate to apply to literal physical or mental health aids.
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H. Ross Peron
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« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2021, 06:07:52 PM »

Moral Therapeutic Deism, both of the masculinist, right-wing Norman Vincent Peale-Donald Trump and the feminine, progressive Marianne Williamson variants.
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Former President tack50
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« Reply #9 on: February 08, 2021, 01:55:47 PM »

Such a person probably vaguely believes in (a) God, but doesn't think He has much control over their daily life and generally doesn't think about religion/faith a whole lot.

Yeah, basically this. I'd possibly even take it a step further and say that they think about religion so little because it has such a small in their daily lives; that they might outright have 0 consistent religious beliefs whatsoever.

The answer to any essencial religious question would almost always be among the lines of "I don't know", "I have no idea" or possibly even "I don't care".
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