Living in Two Worlds

[prisonchaplain]

Don't you sometimes feel like you're schizophrenic? If you're LDS, and you live outside Utah or Southern Idaho, don't you sometimes feel like you have your church world, and the secular world? I do. I'm an evangelical Christian, living in a county that is 63% religiously unaffiliated. 7% of the community is evangelical, 8% mainstream Christian, and 15% Catholic. There are about 6% that are LDS, Jehovah's Witness, Muslim, etc. 63% again have no religious affiliation. On Sundays and Wednesday nights I enjoy my Christian world, and on other days I sometimes wonder if I'm an alien. Can anyone relate?

[havejoy]

Absolutely. I feel like I'm ready for kindergarten and the rest of the world is in college.

I'm not old enough to watch most of what's on TV.

I'm not old enough to see most of the movies that come out.

I'm not old enough to listen to most of the music on the radio.

I'm not old enough to read most of the books on the bestseller lists.

I'm 52.

[AnthonyB]

PC,

I can relate to what your saying but I find it hard to imagine someone from the US feeling that way. From here the US appears absorbed in religion (almost marinated), especially evanglelical. Religion seems to dominate the US psyche in the way few other modern socities share. When I visited the US, every second radio station had religious content. In my mind I imagine SLC would just be a LDS version of what the rest of the US appears to be for Evanglelical Christians in the eyes of most non-US people.

Odd in somes ways, cause the US comes across as simulataneously the most religious and most anti-religious countries. Whilst faith dominates your national agenda, anti-faith plays a much higher role.

In Australia people of "faith" (any faith) form a much smaller proportion of the population and religion just doesn't appear in the average person's horizon. Yet not only can you pray in schools, our governments schools still offer RE classes, staffed by voulenteers from churches, which you have to actively opt of if you don't want your kids attending. The Federal government happily subsidises private religious schools, not just for buildings but recurrent education costs.

[prisonchaplain]

Anthony, nationwide 85% of Americans identify as Christians. However, Washington State is one of the least religious regions of our country. King County, home of Seattle, is perhaps one of the least religious urban counties. I remember about 10 years ago (the hayday of conservative religious political power) when the head of our state's Republican Party publically stated "Look, this is the anti-Bible belt!"

[jmcic]

yes i am LDS and when i am not in church it is like a totaly different world at times

[Tarnished]

I feel that way quite a lot. I find that when I am at work I have to explain myself to others. "So why don't you drink? Why don't you drink coffee? Why don't you swear? Why don't you watch certain movies?" Mostly the coffee gets them. And then explaining things to them. If you walk up to someone who is not LDS and say, "So my parents are in my Stake and so they decided to visit my ward the other Sunday, and well since I kind of grew up there my mom was welcomed into Relief Society like she went there every Sunday." You really have to explain yourself and what you mean. I find I have to translate into non-LDS speech, which means that sometimes my stories are a bit halting as I find the right words for things, take the above sentence, for me it would probably go something like this: "So my parents are in my Sta...err umm Church's group, and so they decided to visit my war...err Church congregation, and well since I kind of grew up there my mom was welcomed into the Relief...umm I mean Woman's group like she went there every Sunday." It kind of loses something in translation. But since I grew up out away from Utah and the Mormon Corridor I am used to it. Truthfully when I lived out in Utah it was more of a culture shock than living out here ever has been.

[Moksha]

Know what you mean PC. Even though I live on Planet Utah, we still get visitors and TV progams from Earth.

[Palerider]

I agree with you PC....after spending Sunday and sometimes other evenings with Church related stuff, reality sets in on Monday morning. If I go and spend the weekend in Nauvoo, when I come back I always think...back to the real world...:)

[DigitalShadow]

Being non-religious and living in Utah, I know what you mean.

I knew Australia was pretty secular, but I had no idea about Washington. Sounds like a nice place :)

[Traveler]

Don't you sometimes feel like you're schizophrenic? If you're LDS, and you live outside Utah or Southern Idaho, don't you sometimes feel like you have your church world, and the secular world? I do. I'm an evangelical Christian, living in a county that is 63% religiously unaffiliated. 7% of the community is evangelical, 8% mainstream Christian, and 15% Catholic. There are about 6% that are LDS, Jehovah's Witness, Muslim, etc. 63% again have no religious affiliation. On Sundays and Wednesday nights I enjoy my Christian world, and on other days I sometimes wonder if I'm an alien. Can anyone relate?

Interesting that you would post this - I have told you many times that I feel and believe that this world is not my home or where I belong. I do believe that I (and everyone else) came from somewhere very foreign and different from this place. I understand that I and everyone else are here for a good reason but I do long for and have every intention of returning to my rightful home (which has some faint resemblance to the community where I worship – but is not me or my family – not me or my family, where we came from or where we are going - but is along the way back).

The Traveler

[prisonchaplain]

Being non-religious and living in Utah, I know what you mean.

I knew Australia was pretty secular, but I had no idea about Washington. Sounds like a nice place :)

Truly, the greater Seattle area is a nice place. People are polite, customer service tracks much better than Miami did...people try to be good, for the most part. And, I grew up here, and never took Christian culture for granted. Atheists, agnostics, and non-committed find this a tolerant, accepting place.

And...churches have imbibed that approach. Our congregations tend to be international, struggles are freely discussed, and there is less hypocrisy (no social advantage to going to church, really).

[prisonchaplain]

Note to Traveler...I suppose we're all Travelers...Pilgrims.

[mlbrowninwa]

PC, I know what you are saying and it is the same here in Vancouver,WA(which is about 3 hours south of Seattle for those who don't know). Most all of the the churches here in Vancouver are non-denominational, but there is such a large percentage of people that just don't go. There is a large LDS presence in my area though.

I really feel like I'm in two worlds all the time. I have church and related activities and then I work in the automotive field which I must say has very little Christian subjects come up. It is a constant battle to try to keep the right train of thought throughout the day.

[Mahone]

Interesting subject. I worked in the temple for a year and I remember having a discussion similar to this - someone mentioned that they can't just go shopping straight after work for instance after working all day (five days a week) in the temple. I understood what she meant, the contrast really can be fairly extreme. Before working there, I'd never realised exactly how dirty most public buildings actually are, or at least they appeared that way at the time.

[FunkyTown]

I completely agree with PC!

In one world, I'm weird and strange, with conflicting viewpoints that are bizarre to the rest of the world.

In the other place, I can go to the movies!

Actually, I've found that I fit in far better outside of conservative areas of the church. London loves me!

[Maxel]

Traveler already made the point I was going to:

It sounds like you're a stranger to this world, PC. Perhaps you belong in a better sphere of existence than this, and are just passing through this mortal realm?

I often feel out of place among Church members. There's too much hypocrisy and backbiting among the members in some places, and among the young adults I've often been the odd one out (not wanting to go to certain movies like 'Transformers', not watching television, etc.). My experiences among other subgroups- atheistic, mainstream Christian, etc.- have never been any better. Maybe I've just had bad luck in the places I live, but I sometimes feel out of place in my Church, and I always feel out of place in the world.

[Guest Alana]

Seattle is a nice area, I like it. I have a lot of family in the Tacoma area. I'd say the whole west coast has a very 'unreligious' feel to it. A lot of people say they are spiritual but will balk at anything that hints at organized religion or a defined idea of who God is and like. For instance, in this nice old hippy town, saying 'have a blessed day' makes people smile but if something happens and you say 'God must have been watching out for him' and you'll recieve some raised eye brows.

I feel very much like I have my church friends and my not church friends. The only friend who bridges those two worlds is my neighbor, she isn't LDS but is very religious (christian) and we can easily talk about matters spiritual in non vague terms. She is an exception to the area though. I suppose the difference between these two 'worlds' is more 'them' than me. I'm the same person, even if the conversation might take different routes.

[talisyn]

I spent my teenish years in a place that was about 76% Roman Catholic, who had no idea what a Mormon was and didn't care lol. There were only 4 of us in school, and one was my sister. At my current job out of 32 people in my crew there is only 1 other fellow Saint, and he's not very saintish. It's not so much that I feel like I'm in 2 different worlds, it's more like they have a lot of catching up to do

[ferretrunner]

Good thread. I struggle with not feeling I belong in either setting. I tend to look at all sides of an issue and often see points the other side has. I'm moderate, which can be problematic in a more conservative Church. I'm moderate, which can be problematic in a liberal society. But, I keep feeling pulled back toward the LDS Church for some reason. I love it/ I hate it. LOL. That's not schizophernic, that's Multiple Personality Disorder.

[AnthonyB]

PC,

Kept having this refrain going through my head whilst reading but I couldn't pin it down, then it came to, its the chorus of an old Petra song from my younger years, entitled "Not of this world"

We are pilgrims in a strange land

We are so far from our homeland

With each passing day it seems so clear

This world will never want us here

We're not welcome in this world of wrong

We are foreigners who don't belong

(Chorus)

We are strangers, we are aliens

We are not of this world

We are envoys, we must tarry

With this message we must carry

There's so much to do before we leave

With so many more who may believe

Our mission here can never fail

And the gates of hell will not prevail

Jesus told us men would hate us

But we must be of good cheer

He has overcome this world of darkness

And soon we will depart from here