American Grace: Changing Religion in the US

[Anonymous]

LookingHard wrote:

SamBee wrote:

There isn’t a European equivalent of the Bible Belt, although there are a few villages which are strongly religious.

There is a spot on the shin of the boot of Italy called “Rome” that is a bit heavy on the bible.

Hmm… true and kind of… but even Rome despite it being a pilgrim spot is a pretty ordinary Italian city in certain other ways. It has massive secular tourism, and the open behavior of many of the politicians there makes any US hanky panky look mild. (Same with Jerusalem – the religious stuff is there, but once you leave the old parts it becomes a lot less in your face)

I suppose it’s because Rome wasn’t really founded as a Catholic city, it’s more like a powerful secular city that became a religious center. Salt Lake City is a religious center that has slowly turned secular.

What Europe does have that the USA doesn’t to the same extent is monasteries and priories etc. The USA has them, but it’s not quite the same. What the USA has that Europe doesn’t to the same extent are large swathes owned by more modern religious groups – Mormons, JWs, Maharishis, Branch Davidians etc.

To get the same kind of isolation in Europe, you’d have to go to the European parts of Russia, and the Eastern Bloc (some bits of Poland). Unfortunately for a while, the Commies wouldn’t let much of that go on.

There’s religion in both, but very different flavors.

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