Canada's "Bible belts"

[lio45]

Originally Posted by esquire

In practical terms, even if there were such a religion, its adherents would die off quickly in Canada, or leave for warmer climes.

For evident practical reasons, our "Holy City" in Canada would have to be either Victoria, or Maple Creek, Saskatchewan

[esquire]

Originally Posted by lio45

For evident practical reasons, our "Holy City" in Canada would have to be either Victoria, or Maple Creek, Saskatchewan

[hipster duck]

Well this was a typical SSP Canada thread.

What was once about bible belts (i.e. Christianity, specifically Evangelical Protestantism) turned into a thread about Quebec/differences between English and French Canada and the weather.

[lio45]

Actually, we're still discussing religion in here. It's not that off-topic, let alone when judged by the standards of a forum where kw and myself are currently discussing language fluency challenges in a thread meant for skyline pictures of CMAs 1 million and under.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by lio45

Actually, we're still discussing religion in here. It's not that off-topic, let alone when judged by the standards of a forum where kw and myself are currently discussing language fluency challenges in a thread meant for skyline pictures of CMAs 1 million and under.

I confess that I have been known to stray off-topic from time to time...

I like to think that the quality of my posts makes up for it!

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Well this was a typical SSP Canada thread.

What was once about bible belts (i.e. Christianity, specifically Evangelical Protestantism) turned into a thread about Quebec/differences between English and French Canada and the weather.

Well, I answered the question for the province I live in, which happens to be Quebec.

But it wasn't me or anyone from Quebec who brought the discussion about Quebec mistreating all those poor Muslim ladies who want to wear their niqabs in peace and of their own free will.

[Loco101]

To get back on topic:

I attended evangelical churches for awhile, both brethren (non-denomiational) and Baptist. I grew up in the United Church which is very liberal. I've never been a conservative-type person so it was difficult attending evangelical churches at times. But I was surprised at how many liberal people attended the evangelical churches I went to. Sometimes the messages were quite extreme but often quite a few people attending didn't agree. Some of the issues I remember there being uneasiness about were concerning common-law relationships, alcohol, giving money to the church, abortion, prayer and bibles in public schools and much more.

I'll add a bit more later. My daughter wants my attention. lol

[1overcosc]

^ One of my best friends is a sort of "liberal evangelical". She's a typical millennial woman in that she's very pro-choice, very pro-feminism, etc. and her social/political views are pretty leftist across the board; yet she's a born again Christian who attends a "salvation citadel" church every Sunday.

She was also raised Catholic.

As for Catholics, my partner is gay, Aboriginal, and a practicing Catholic. He manages to reconcile all three identities, even though I'm often at a loss as to how exactly he can make that work.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I confess that I have been known to stray off-topic from time to time...

I like to think that the quality of my posts makes up for it!

No need to make up for straying off-topic, it's more often than not what makes the discussions interesting

And yeah, if you want my honest opinion, your contributions to this forum are nearly always top quality (even though once in a while, you do manage to sound like a chicken praising Colonel Sanders )

[someone123]

Originally Posted by esquire

All this chatter about nudism is fascinating, but it's a bit fanciful given that there is no significant religion I'm aware of that dictates nudism (apart from smart-alecky hypothetical religions in the vein of the flying spaghetti monster).

What is a significant religion? Does it need to have a lot of adherents, and do they need to be in Canada? Can I join a fringe religion in Asia with 1,000,000 true believers, move to Canada as an individual, and expect recognition?

Why is religious belief more important than somebody else's opinion or desire? I'm not sure why, for example, the demands of 1,000,000 religious folks are more important than 1,000,000 people who belong to a naturist group in Canada. Naturists tend to have their own philosophical reasoning which is more rational than most religious doctrine.

In practical terms, even if there were such a religion, its adherents would die off quickly in Canada, or leave for warmer climes. And I think it's far from a stretch to say that someone being extremely underdressed in public (i.e., nude) is a sight that all people will generally frown on regardless of personal belief system, as opposed to being overdressed which we may not like, but we're not going to necessarily avert our eyes from.

There's a significant number of nudists in BC. This is probably obvious but they do wear clothing in the colder months. These people don't frown on the idea of nudity.

Here's a small religious sect in Canada that is or was pro-nudity (the wiki articles includes a theological justification that seems as good as any other): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedomites

I can't say that I'd personally feel comfortable being in a clothes-free environment with random people but doesn't it seem a bit strange that humans are ashamed of their own bodies? I think our norms around clothing are classic arbitrary taboos. We sometimes needed clothes but they took on special social significance and now people demand that they are worn for social reasons even when they are not otherwise needed. It's reasonable to ask why we wouldn't try to strip away these cultural taboos to permit the greatest amount of freedom we can without harming anybody in a tangible way.

[esquire]

^ I'm not saying it isn't an arbitrary distinction we make when it comes to nudism. The point is that nudism is a different beast because it deals with a norm that I would suggest most of society isn't ready to do away with yet, regardless of your views as to the merits of their position.

Whether we like it or not, the niqab really does not trigger the same kind of social taboo. Perhaps some might claim it does, but really... the common sense test will tell us that someone walking around in a "beekeeper" outfit will not elicit the same sort of response as someone going down the street buck naked. So there is a difference, and I can't accept the argument that there is any kind of equivalence between the two.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by lio45

No need to make up for straying off-topic, it's more often than not what makes the discussions interesting

And yeah, if you want my honest opinion, your contributions to this forum are nearly always top quality (even though once in a while, you do manage to sound like a chicken praising Colonel Sanders )

You owe me one for this!

[someone123]

Whether we like it or not, the niqab really does not trigger the same kind of social taboo. Perhaps some might claim it does, but really... the common sense test will tell us that someone walking around in a "beekeeper" outfit will not elicit the same sort of response as someone going down the street buck naked. So there is a difference, and I can't accept the argument that there is any kind of equivalence between the two.

Probably not the same kind of reaction, but in March 2015, to give one example, 82% of Canadians said that they felt niqabs should be removed during citizenship ceremonies. If our laws were just a kind of popularity contest or if we could only do whatever doesn't offend a significant number of people then niqabs in citizenship ceremonies would be out.

Women were getting acquitted of indecency charges for appearing topless in city streets in Canada in the 1990's. Years later (2005), 72% of Canadians were still opposed to female toplessness on city streets (but most are OK with nude beaches; I assume general opinions on toplessness and nudity have been softening since 2005, but some women still complain that they are wrongly harassed by police when they go topless).

At least as far as the law works, there is more to this than whether or not some people are offended.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by someone123

What is a significant religion? Does it need to have a lot of adherents, and do they need to be in Canada? Can I join a fringe religion in Asia with 1,000,000 true believers, move to Canada as an individual, and expect recognition?

Why is religious belief more important than somebody else's opinion or desire? I'm not sure why, for example, the demands of 1,000,000 religious folks are more important than 1,000,000 people who belong to a naturist group in Canada. Naturists tend to have their own philosophical reasoning which is more rational than most religious doctrine.



There's a significant number of nudists in BC. This is probably obvious but they do wear clothing in the colder months. These people don't frown on the idea of nudity.

Here's a small religious sect in Canada that is or was pro-nudity (the wiki articles includes a theological justification that seems as good as any other): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedomites

I can't say that I'd personally feel comfortable being in a clothes-free environment with random people but doesn't it seem a bit strange that humans are ashamed of their own bodies? I think our norms around clothing are classic arbitrary taboos. We sometimes needed clothes but they took on special social significance and now people demand that they are worn for social reasons even when they are not otherwise needed. It's reasonable to ask why we wouldn't try to strip away these cultural taboos to permit the greatest amount of freedom we can without harming anybody in a tangible way.

The thing with religions is that they are so arbitrary. Even the fact that an established religion has been around for a millennium doesn't mean it can't have a totally wacko belief system, and be more out of touch than, say, the principles of the Prime Directive from Star Trek.

Given how difficult it is to separate the wheat from the chaff (going all biblical here!), it's almost a necessity for modern societies to stop giving new "free passes" for religious reasons, and to scale back when possible stuff that has been more or less grandfathered. And for religion to remain in the private realm.

That's why some people react to stuff that seems to be going the opposite way from this logical evolution.

[SaskScraper]

Originally Posted by lio45

For evident practical reasons, our "Holy City" in Canada would have to be either Victoria, or Maple Creek, Saskatchewan

Great Idea!
I'm going to petition town council to renaming to Mecca Creek, Saskatchewan. That way people can enjoy, think of and pray toward town by all Canadians

Lio45, I'm glad you are carrying with you the weather lessons I illustrated in the weather thread. Some other posters seemed put off by me detailing factual information such as how the average Alaskan's (Anchorage) Winter (Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar) temperature average is not unlike the average Quebecer's (Montreal) Winter average temperature.
Could be worse though, you could be living in Winterpeg, Manisnowba

Originally Posted by hipster duck View Post
Well this was a typical SSP Canada thread.

What was once about bible belts (i.e. Christianity, specifically Evangelical Protestantism) turned into a thread about Quebec/differences between English and French Canada and the weather.

Sometimes these threads derail when mis-information by posters that have never been to my part of the country is written. I just feel its my obligation to dispel these inaccuracies, by citing literature, which very few others do.

[Docere]

Here's the Prairies. Manitoba's Mennonite belt and Alberta's Mormon belt are apparent.

Manitoba

Census divisions:

Division No. 3 (Winkler) 68.8%
Division No. 2 (Steinbach) 49%
Division No. 4 (Pilot Mound) 21.8%

Federal ridings:

Portage-Lisgar 47.5%
Provencher 41.6%

Saskatchewan

Census divisions:

Division No. 14 (Melfort) 23.5%
Division No. 7 (Moose Jaw) 23.2%
Division No. 8 (Swift Current) 22.8%

Federal ridings:

Cypress Hills-Grasslands 22.2%

Alberta

Division No. 3 (Cardston) 38.1%
Division No. 2 (Lethbridge) 32%
Division No. 5 (Strathmore) 27.1%
Division No. 9 (Rocky Mountain House) 25.4%
Division No. 8 (Red Deer) 22.9%
Division No. 1 (Medicine Hat) 22.8%
Division No. 4 (Hanna) 20.9%
Division No. 19 (Grande Prairie) 20.9%

Federal ridings:

Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner 30%
Lethbridge 29.4%
Bow River 26.2%
Peace River-Westlock 25.9%
Red Deer-Lacombe 23.3%
Red Deer-Mountain View 22.4%
Foothills 22.2%
Grande Prairie-Mackenzie 21.7%
Battle River-Crowfoot 20.9%

[Loco101]

Another thing to add to the discussion:

Megachurches in Canada. Check out this link:
http://hirr.hartsem.edu/megachurch/c...achurches.html

Just look at what types of churches are the largest. All evangelical from what I can see. Also notice that you will only find male Pastors. From my experiences, many evangelical churches are run like businesses where there is much emphasis placed on growth. You then realize that's it has a lot to do about money and power. With that also comes bragging about attendance numbers.

Sadly, many evangelical churches lose direction when they focus on the wrong things that are actually against what they are supposed to be doing and believing.

[Docere]

Conservative MP Ted Falk (Provencher, MB) just made a statement in the House of Commons that concluded with "God Bless Donald Trump."

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by Docere

Conservative MP Ted Falk (Provencher, MB) just made a statement in the House of Commons that concluded with "God Bless Donald Trump."

I know at least two other MP's openly endorsed Trump - Ben Lobb and Dave Van Kesteren - although I am guessing most of the CPC backbench supports him. Even when they were in government, the fifth row was largely made up of the hardline social conservatives in the party, while a lot of the moderates ended up in Cabinet.

[BretttheRiderFan]

The Mormon belt in southern Alberta. Cardston, Taber, etc.