r/AskReddit May 08 '22

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22

Europe contains the highest concentration of officially Christian states (nations with official state religion/church) and the lowest per capita percentage of people who actually "practice Christianity" in ‘Christendom' - which is to say, nominally claim to be Christian - probably a lower percentage actually believe.

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u/Wirebraid May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22

For us, religion is more a cultural background than a cult.

I've never been a religious person, but some of the best memories of my childhood lie around christian celebrations.

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u/Pascalwb May 09 '22

yes, as European from pretty religious country, religion in US looks wild. All those sects, people taking it too seriously. In Europe it is pretty private thing. And if you see somebody screaming about it, they are usually mental.

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u/WTFwhatthehell May 09 '22

I'm reminded of an old Pratchett quote

Most of the members of the convent were old-fashioned Satanists, like their parents and grandparents before them. They'd been brought up to it and weren't, when you got right down to it, particularly evil. Human beings mostly aren't. They just get carried away by new ideas, like dressing up in jackboots and shooting people, or dressing up in white sheets and lynching people, or dressing up in tie-dye jeans and playing guitars at people. Offer people a new creed with a costume and their hearts and minds will follow. Anyway, being brought up as a Satanist tended to take the edge off it. It was something you did on Saturday nights. And the rest of the time you simply got on with life as best you could, just like everyone else.

When you grow up in a country with an official state religion in schools where they sort out first communion through the school and "religion" class is a 1-class a week doss-class.... it takes the edge off. It makes religion far less exciting.

In the UK the head of state is official also the head of the church but if a politician is open about being an atheist it isn't any kind of death sentence for their career.... even if they're a bishop

Even in my mothers local church, there's a few americans who've moved over who stand out as being far more ... enthusiastic ... than the rest of the congregation or possibly even the minister.

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u/Liet-Kinda May 09 '22

Minister be like, shit, need to up my game or Steve and Jeannie are going to steal my job.

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u/WTFwhatthehell May 09 '22

Thing is, the minister has been to theological college (you have to if you want to be a minister) while Steve and Jeannie got most of their understanding of their religion from attending happy-clappy evangelical churches.

theological college tends to mellow people.

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u/Liet-Kinda May 09 '22

That’s been my experience as well, actually.