Where have you lived and traveled? (Buddhists, Muslims, bible, Israel)

[siameseifyoupls]

I grew up in North Carolina, went to school in Chicago and have lived in Texas, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia and Turkey. Have visited England twice, Greece three times, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Jordan, France, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Canada, and have been to many states.

[badlander]

Originally Posted by L8Gr8Apost8

Lived my entire life thus far in the same 35 mile radius. I married a Canadian so that should count. I grew up in the sticks and moved to the City. They are worlds apart.

Don't feel my my bil has lived for over 60 years never more than 500 feet away from the first place he lived as a baby.

I have lived in all 4 western provinces. I have traveled western NA from San Diego to Inuvik plus New Orleans, am
ND all provinces but 2. Other countries include Iceland, Austria, Czech Republic, Scotland and Cuba plus at airports in Germany and England. Next year's plans are back to the West Coast and later return to Scotland and Iceland and we plan on the following year to drive from Alberta to Newfoundland.

[Derek41]

Originally Posted by fishbrains

I have lived in 4 countries. Canada, USA, and a couple of Asian countries as a child.

In Canada I have lived in 3 provinces, and in the US 5 different states. I have traveled to all Canadian provinces and territories, and 45 out of 50 states. As an adult I have been to U.K., Italy, Mexico, Indonesia, a few Carribean islands, Bermuda, Costa Rica, and Turkey, plus passed through a number of others. As a kid I have been to many more.

I have relatives in US, Canada, and several Western European countries.

The tie to religion is interesting. As a young kid, many of my friends were missionary children. Their parents were trying to convert predominantly Catholic Asians to some variety of Protestantism. Later, I lived in a Moslem country, but expats worked in the oil industry. I doubt missionaries could get visas. Traveling during the summers I experienced Buddhism, Hinduism, sikhs, etc.

All in all, I had a fairly wide exposure to religion when I was young, and as an adult I have had a similarly diverse experience. I do remember being confused as to why my friends parents were trying to convert Catholics to a variety of different Protestant sects, as I didn't see much difference at the time.

They are virtually 2 different religions when you scratch below the surface, mainly due to the different 2nd Commandment, and the "faith alone vs faith +works" dilemma. (at least in their minds)
Places like the Philippines, which are predominantly Catholic, also have a lot of converted Evangelical Protestants as well, who are often the most vocal on anti-Catholic sites.
On the OP:
Live in Australia, about 2 hours north of Sydney, and have lived most of my life in NSW.
Travelled to SE Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore) and Nepal, along with Mauritius and Hawaii. (not been to mainland North America, or Europe for that matter).

[ukrkoz]

Born in Siberia in exile.
Hale from Western Ukraine where I lived for 33 years.
Traveled across the entire USSR with opera house I grew in, when they had "summer cultural exchange' with other opera houses in the country. Was very interesting, actually. been to Poland many times.
I moved to the USA and worked in five states and traveled many PacNW to TN routes.
Gave me valuable opportunity to compare socialist and capitalist systems. And people.

[Shirina]

Some folks here already know my background but I'll bullet-point it again for those who may not:

Born: Hyderabad India

I lived in the following places outside of the U.S.:

1 A few different places in India
2 Casablanca, Morocco
3 Milton-Keynes, U.K.

I lived in the following places within the U.S.:

1 Rochester, NY
2 Houston, TX
3 Jacksonville, FL
4 Chicago, IL
5 Erie, PA
6 Raleigh, NC
7 Winston-Salem, NC
8 Boone, NC
9 Around half a dozen small towns in northwestern PA

Places where I visited:

Damn near everywhere -- far too many to make a comprehensive list. I've been to all the U.S. states except for the extreme southwest (Arizona, New Mexico) and have visited every major city except Los Angeles, San Diego, and Phoenix. I've been to the far eastern and western provinces of Canada but not the middle ones.

I've been to all of the European nations except for "iffy" places like Bosnia and the other former Yugoslavian nations nor have I been to Switzerland. I avoided northern Africa though I *really really* wanted to visit Egypt but I never got there. I had no desire to visit the Middle East due to the restrictions placed on women in many of those places so I never went. Closest I came was to Haifa and Tel-Aviv in Israel.

Finally, I've been "around" Asia somewhat -- China, Bangladesh, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Singapore.

Sorry, Australians but I never made it there.

None of this traveling and moving around had any real effect on my religious views though, as I sort of said, I really didn't have any desire to visit Muslim nations because far too many of those places treat women like garbage and, even if you're from the West, they still expect you to abide by their customs and restrictions. I just said "no thanks" and spent my travel dollars elsewhere; I wasn't going to fund in any least way the economies of nations that demand women be covered head-to-toe in identity-stealing clothing, places where women aren't allowed to drive, go to school, vote, hold a job, or where they can't even go out into the street without a male escort who must be an immediate family member.

I know that the Quran rarely if ever supports these draconian and misogynistic rules but, in far too many places, subjugating women has become a part of both the Muslim faith and the Middle Eastern culture. Back when I was traveling, it was somewhat worse than it is now.

I suppose one could say that the very first, THE very first nigglings of atheism began due to this mistreatment of women by a harsh and unforgiving faith - which I saw personally in some parts of Casablanca.

My traveling didn't have much of an impact on my religious beliefs. For most of my life, I just assumed that God existed -- but only in a vague sort of way. I never had a serious conviction, rarely ever went to church, rarely ever prayed, and rarely ever read any holy books.

When I did read the Bible -- on my own without the "guidance" of a pastor who I know would have steered me away from the inconvenient verses and rationalize heavily those stories like Job and Abraham/Isaac -- my atheism began to come together. Couple that with a sudden resurgence of authoritarian fundamentalism in the small town where I spent my adolescence, I had had enough.

[Rbbi1]

Originally Posted by ukrkoz

Born in Siberia in exile.
Hale from Western Ukraine where I lived for 33 years.
Traveled across the entire USSR with opera house I grew in, when they had "summer cultural exchange' with other opera houses in the country. Was very interesting, actually. been to Poland many times.
I moved to the USA and worked in five states and traveled many PacNW to TN routes.
Gave me valuable opportunity to compare socialist and capitalist systems. And people.

That's an interesting background. A lot of them on here. The wonder of the internet is that we all get to "meet". Peace

[mordant]

Originally Posted by Jumbo10

Just curious where people on this sub-forum have lived and traveled and how it may or may not influence religious views.

US, Canada, Mexico, UK (twice), France (twice), Italy (twice), Greece, Turkey, Vietnam. Germany and South Korea if you count plane connections ;-)

I do think that travel broadens perspective, particularly when done with real curiosity and an effort to experience the culture visited rather than a beach and attraction - oriented vacation or one that focuses on experiences you could have anywhere (like visiting a McDonald's in Paris, though I admit to going there for the WiFi when it was time to send pics back home).

My religious views were more influenced by their inadequacy to predict and explain experienced reality than anything else, but seeing other cultures and customs certainly helped to break me out of the very parochial mindset that I grew up in.

[Pleroo]

Originally Posted by L8Gr8Apost8

Lived my entire life thus far in the same 35 mile radius. I married a Canadian so that should count. I grew up in the sticks and moved to the City. They are worlds apart.

I have lived in a lot of different states, but all in the same region of the US. However, I also have experienced living in the sticks, and cities, and really big cities, so I know what you're saying.

[nateswift]

Shirina wins! Talk about a WORLD of experience.

[Pleroo]

Originally Posted by nateswift

Shirina wins! Talk about a WORLD of experience.

No kidding. And in a very short period of time, if she's as young as she appears in her profile pic!