Brian posed an interesting question to me - "...how St. Louis being "religious" factored into your experience there" - in a comment to the previous entry. So interesting that I felt compelled to write an entry about it.

Without a doubt, religion is a large part of the culture here in St. Louis. That can readily be seen in the high concentration of places of worship, in the amount of coverage the local media gives to various religious institutions and even in the local advertising. In addition, I get the occasional postcards for Christian music fests or local churches asking me to join them.

For the most part, St. Louis' religiousness has not significantly factored into the totality of my experience. Much like Brian, I haven't encountered any overt proselytizing or any real mention of religion in most of my interactions with other people while living here. Probably the biggest difference it has made so far is finding a a non-meat serving establishment during lent to accommodate those observing it.

St. Louis' religious nature does grate a little bit, but it doesn't really bother me: I just smile and nod politely or ignore it all together. However, I feel that religion contributes to the small town, conservative and parochial nature St. Louis possesses in spite of its seemingly urban characteristics. And that's what really bothers me.