Even on your tiny island you have one: LOPEZ ISLAND COMMUNITY CHURCH. If they can exist on an island with a population under 3,000 people, they are LITERALLY EVERYWHERE in the United States.

@hemingwaykitten There are 3 churches on the island and they often have services in different sects. The Community church is in the village and it has been there a long time. This was a major agriculture area especially pre-Grand Coulee dam. A lot of events are held in the churches, music venues, meetings, classes and on and they are mostly secular. Be aware, this county and especially this island is about as progressive as one can get.

@JackPedigo I know exactly where Lopez Island is and how expensive and exclusive some of those islands can be. The Lopez Island Community Church advertises itself on the web as being a congregation of Bible Literalists. That doesn't mean they can't play nice with other churches or give their basement to use for AA meetings. They'd have a tough time staying open and recruiting if they didn't.

@hemingwaykitten You are probably right about this church. I recently took some classes in non-violence communication here and it seemed like our Grace Church which is a liberal congregation. Glad you pointed out their site so I learned something about this place (which I seem to do daily). Also, there are conservatives here (and tRump supporters) but they are a minority and stay mostly in the background. My dentist is a 7th day Adventist. She doesn't proselytize and we were even in a vegetarian group with her. She is a great dentist. You can't escape the religious fanatics but we definitely overwhelm them.

Yes, it can be expensive here and we do have homelessness and domestic violence. Some islands to be that way by nature (accessibility, jobs, housing) and it is mostly the wealthy that are the most flexible (but I am not one of them). It is the energy and generosity of volunteers (mostly retirees) that make this place what it is. Also, we want to keep sprawl at bay but yet provide affordable housing (which I see as contradictory) which is also limiting. We don't like being a mono-culture (mostly white & middle class with some wealthy and poor thrown in) but there is little we can do to change this. There is a Latino group here but they stay mostly in the background per their own choosing. As usual it is a complex issue. BTW don't let the below 3000 population fool you. Almost 50% of the homes are 2nd and 3rd homes so the summer population doubles. How do you know about this place?

@JackPedigo For years I have looked for a more liberal area I could afford, even though I love Boone, North Carolina. I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, but it is often ruined by the sheer number of ignorant Evangelicals who seem determined to make me stroke out. I looked into many places in WA, OR, CO, & VT. NONE of them are affordable unless you want to live in the backwoods with racist illegal militias. So here I stayed.

@hemingwaykitten I was happy in Seattle. Our home was paid for and really nice. However, my late partner wanted a community and this place dropped in our laps. Noe Seattle is way overpriced but we found a small piece of property with an old manufactured home. We built and renovated and the value is not that high and it is easy to live on my fixed income. Christian nuts are everywhere but they are a small minority here. The community is unique in the whole state.

@JackPedigo I can imagine Seattle or Portland before the recession would have been wonderful places to live, and relatively affordable.

I knew a couple from Boone who moved to Oregon five years ago, and moved back here a year later. Their reason: too many ignorant rednecks! They couldn't afford anything in the Portland area so they lived out in the sticks. It's amazing how backwards Eastern Oregon and Washington State are compared to the coasts. Oregon in particular is not any better than the Appalachians, in fact worse when it comes to hate groups and illegal militias.

Denver now is congested with sky high rents also. Nothing is affordable in the Rockies, anyway. I understand it, but it seems strange as many places in the Central Appalachians are just as wonderful, but far more affordable.

The issue in Vermont is a lack of jobs, or I'd be right at home in the Green Mountain area.

Come on down to North Carolina! Duke Divinity School at Duke University turns out a lot of clergy with advanced degrees on the literal Protestant side. We also are home to Wake Forest University...their basketball team is the "Demon Deacons" and they do the same.

In Virginia, you've got Bob Jones University and Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. They are literal Protestant schools, and mostly that's who attends them.

@hemingwaykitten The fact they study "Divinity" tells me they are as ignorant as those who never went to school.

@DUCHESSA Yes, but they had the grades to get into Duke! These aren't grammar school dropouts.

@hemingwaykitten Did you ever heard of "I went to school but the school didn't come to me"?

@DUCHESSA No. Did you ever hear of not insulting someone's intelligence because of their religion? I may not agree with belivers but I won't slap the label "grammar school dropouts" on them in my ignorance.

@hemingwaykitten Well, to me every person who believes in god is not too bright.

Homo sapiens sapiens is far older than 6,000 years. You sound like one of them.

@hemingwaykitten I thought you knew that our androcentric theological fanatic 'pastors' are a breed are above us.

@Silver1wun ???

I found a seashell about a hundred miles from beach in Turkey. I wish I had saved it to remind myself of the transitive nature of my short life in the grand scheme of things merely a mote.

@RDaneel You're a poet! Do you know it? ?

@hemingwaykitten nah just a retired English teacher chuckle

That's because you live in the U.K. Anybody looney enough to believe in literal bible interpretation there emigrates to the U.S. One of them married my sister-in-law!

oh, you're almost definitely right but luckily also everyone thinks I'm strange anyway.

@LeighShelton You're only strange in the best way!

thank you so much @hemingwaykitten

Lmfao! I heard something like that, but it was Satan instead that was going around planting dinosaur bones to confuse people.

@EmeraldJewel Oh yeah, they will make up all kinds of shit, huh?

@balou yes and it pisses me off. I actually had a woman tell me earth appears older is cause god put everything on pause when he and the devil had a huge blowout and when he kicked him out of Heaven.

@EmeraldJewel It's a mind blow what some people will believe!

Did they tell you about the Noah's Ark theme park in Kentucky which shows humans riding dinosaurs? Only recently did it file for bankruptcy.

@hemingwaykitten Too funny.

Ha! I once went out with a guy who looked at me in amazement and said, "Don't tell me you believe in dinosaurs!"
I don't remember exactly what I said, but I do remember I ended the date right after that. Lol

Catholics are wayyyy more reasonable than Fundy Protestants have ever been. The Vatican has an official Astronomy departnent and their clergy believes "possession" is a byproduct of mental illness. Many priests have psychology degrees or PhDs in psychiatry. With the exception of the Anglican/Episcopalian branch of Protestants, don't they all pretty much believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible?

Read my post above, these nuts are real.

I hope you can forgive me that I had to laugh.

@EmeraldJewel It doesn’t bother me much now that I’m out of the house. And my little brothers from her are believers but barely. They believe in God, but that’s basically it.

Even if you've never met one, they are all over Waynesboro PA.
Grace Baptist Church
Antrim Faith Baptist Church
Liberty Baptist Church
Snow Hill Seventh Day Baptist Church
(Seventh Day Adventists are literalists as well.)

@hemingwaykitten I know there are Baptist churches in my area. Nice research!

What?! I'm in Edmonton - I'm going to look that up!

@Jellifish1 If you take the second exit going south on #2 at Innisfail, then take the first left, turn right at the stop sign and then left into the driveway after the houses bingo you are there. You can see the big plastic dinosaur out front and inside you can see them all saddled up for Jesus to ride.

YEP And they all do important 'scientific research' on Utube.

The nursing and heathcare specialists tend to often be fundamentalist women, and a B.S.N. doesn't try to change that. My sister is an RN and a Southern Baptist. Those I call the "willfully ignorant!"

You are missing nothing literally that is what is in their heads.

Bible literalists must actively protest abortion and homosexuality above every other "sin." Their clergy tells them they will go straight to hell if they aren't with the program.

Oh! Ffs! I cheered when that theme park went bankrupt.

How about firmament believers? lol