Seattle has some of the nations lowest church attendance.
Kentucky some of the highest
In rural KY, you go to church because that is what everyone does. You go to potlucks, listen to poorly prepared or unprepared sermons (and some good ones), and do social events.
This is an overgeneralization, but it makes the point: For people in rural KY, church is very much a cultural thing and also religious for many of them. In Seattle church is a religious thing and also a cultural thing for many of them.
FWIW, I get this from talking with people about their beliefs and getting to know them and what they have to say about their relationship with God. There are some quite devout believers here in KY, but many of them can’t really back up their beliefs. Christianity is very much a cultural thing here, though there are those who can very much defend their viewpoint.
And, conversely, if you’re going to preach the Gospel in San Francisco, you ain’t doing it for fun or social acceptance!
I’m a southerner
I understand
I just don’t agree
In fact I don’t agree at all
Free Republic is full of Holy Rollers who think they know best and live to hammer that home
I’m not one of them
I do however think people in Kentucky ignorant or not per Seattle lofty standards are far more God fearing and their voting habits and culture in general reflects that by a 24 point swing in KY to Trumps favor over the Wash state vote
I don’t see how a Christian can vote for infanticide and the homosexual perversion of our culture just for starts no matter how high their IQ
Hence Kentuckians dullards they must be have more faith and less hubris about their beliefs than those super intelligent northwest denizens
Most of my childhood and half of my biology came from western Kentucky and, iirc, “which church do you belong to/go to?” was the one of the first questions you got no matter where you went.
Our pastor (suburb of Seattle) says that the Pacific Northwest has never had a “revival” of faith like everywhere else in the country. His dream is to change that, and he is working with churches from all over the area to do that.
“So now if each one of you, just by living a Godly life, and interacting with others could change just ONE person in a year - why that would be 3,000 new believers!”
Easier said than done, but....
A couple of weeks ago he was saying how he was getting ready to officiate a wedding on a Saturday. Some muslim guy walks in off the street. Asks to talk with someone in charge. He ended up meeting with one of the associate pastors.
“Um - yes - may I help you?”
“I hope so. Jesus came to me in a dream, and he gave me an image of your church. I finally found it. I want to be a Christian.”
Here in the suburbs of Seattle! And a “boring” Presbyterian church. Although we do have a group of Christians from Rwanda that have set up church in another building on campus, and they add some spice when they join us on occasion!