Is the Chattanooga, TN area accepting of people who are of non-Christian religions?

Question

My family is thinking about moving to the Chattanooga, TN area. I've heard that this area is in the "Bible belt." My family belongs to a religion other than Christianity. How will my family be treated by the people in the area? Will they be accepting of our differing beliefs? If anyone of non-Christian beliefs has personal experience with this topic, please share your experiences with me.

Answer 1

I grew up around Chattanooga, and at the time, it was fairly easy to be accepted. However, all of Tennessee has turned toward the conservative side, and you may want seek out a community of your faith in the area and inquire what the general atmosphere is like. There won't be violence, but it may be difficult for you to make some friends among the more conservative Christians.

Answer 2

Your experience in Chattanooga will depend on the experiences of other places you've lived. I have lived in Chattanooga, Chicago, NYC, and New Hampshire. Chattanooga is by far the most conservative and explicitly religious. People are open about religious discussion. There are a few Jews, and Muslims. There is also a Unitarian Church which supports Wiccan.

If you are from the South, you will already be used to the way religion is in the culture. If you are from the North or West, you might find the religious fervor of Chattanooga to be quite strong. That being said, you can always meet like-minded folks. It is a large enough city to do that without much trouble.

It so happens that the New York Times just wrote an article on Chattanooga.

Answer 3

to boot to spending 5th-8th grade close to Chattanooga, I went to severe college in Knoxville. because of the college of Tennessee, Knoxville is a little greater accepting than Chattanooga. (See my answer there.) in my view, although, as a gay guy, if I had a call, i might circulate someplace different than Tennessee.

Answer 4

Tenn. birthplace of the KKK. Does that answer your question?