Do you live in a place where you are not constantly bombarded with religious ideas and symbols everywhere you go? (Ex:billboards for abortion, huge megachurches, religious people spewing rhetoric in the streets or on the subway)
If you live in a place that is free of these things please tell where it is and why it is so special. Pleeeasee.
I am from Sidney BC Canada, we don't see any religious stuff here anywhere. it's not in schools, not in workplaces, not really anywhere. I really couldn't live in a place where religion was everywhere, or I would really have a huge problem, I would be that one person who would cause a damn scene, and I would not care who had an issue with it !
SOME unitarian universalist congregations are run with respectful Atheists sharing duties inside. ...others are pushing agnosticism or "religious humanism" uncritical of violent faiths. ...both child and adult "education" classes survey all world creeds while requiring NO SINGLE CREED
I used to work in midtown Manhattan, and the Israelites would preach on corners over there. usually condemning white people. Where I live, there are some churches and a synagogue.
In the UK it all seems a bit more...........sensible? There's plenty of people that go to church and plenty that don't and nobody is bothered by the other. In some respects we should be more religious as the Queen, head of state, is also head of the Church of England, but nobody is trying to impose anything on anybody. It's all kept fairly private really.
Being on this site I've got an appreciation of what life can be like for an atheist in some parts of America. It really seems amazing that a country so welcoming of outsiders (at least historically) can be so unwelcoming of their own.
Europe is less crazy.
I suppose it depends where in Europe.. I agree. There are some dodgy parts.
I live in England. The nutters know we know who they are and they mostly keep quiet about it.
I'm a Canadian but from British Parents from Scotland and ya, you are right , religious nuts are few and far between, we dont' see them, and thats perfect LOL
COS, DFW, and a small New Mexico town that has religious, anti-abortion, you are going to hell billboards on the entrance to town? Not even close.
Even the heathen town of Portland Oregon has more churches than one realises.
Not sure there are any truly atheist town anywhere in the US
Being that I live in a place called Church Hill, and those are the only two things we have more than one of, I’m gonna have to say no. People mostly leave ya alone out in the country though so except for the church sign every mile I don’t have much trouble avoiding it. People don’t take many occasions to prostletyze in a community that’s this religious by default, so it’s just assumed that everyone’s heard the good news and I have, thanks for not asking.
Now for a more useful answer: if I wanted to move somewhere in my surrounding area that was the least religious as possible I’d love to live in Asheville, NC. It’s a major hippy town hidden in the woods of western NC. Great community for artists n musicians, freaks hippies wiccans skeptics and general bohemian type mountain folk way outnumber the traditionally religious there. Sounds like the kinda place you’re lookin for.
Possibly one of the biggest surprises was how "balanced" Salt Lake City was. I expected this Mormon enclave. But Mormons make up about 50% of the population. There is actually a pretty diverse population there. Pity the government is so bloody religious.
There are probably more Mormons in Idaho and Nevada than in SLC now