4 ms·

> In your average US suburb or small town you'd have a hard time finding a home that isn't within walking distance of some church or another. What??? Have you

by pkulak 2y ago

> In your average US suburb or small town you'd have a hard time finding a home that isn't within walking distance of some church or another. What??? Have you been to an American suburb? Yes, there are churches all over the place, but they can _never_ be walked to. Nothing can be walked to. Maybe they are so ubiquitous that it's only a 5-10-min drive, but that's the best you are gonna get.

lolinder 2y ago
I just dropped a pin in a random suburb outside Philadelphia, searched for churches, then tried to find the spot in the suburb that was the absolute furthest from a church. 0.8 miles, a 17 minute walk. Tried in again in a NY suburb and got 1.1 miles, a 22 minute walk. Tried in a suburb of LA, 0.6 miles, a 14 minute walk (and one that far was hard to find!). I'm deliberately avoiding the South where I expect this to be even more true. Obviously this becomes harder if you need a particular denomination, but a lot of people just attend whatever's closest, and that's all my statement claimed—that there is a church within walking distance of basically everyone. You're welcome to try this elsewhere and see if you get different results.
- pkulak 2y ago
  You may be right. Just did it in Katy Texas and got 24 minutes of, honestly, not a bad walk. I guess I'm just going off my experience, and when I was a kid, no one just went to the closest church. You went to _your_ church. My girlfriend's family was famous for changing churches all the time as soon as there was some philosophy they didn't agree with in their current one. Church with them always involved a pretty decent freeway drive. No I literally don't know a single person who goes to church so... I don't really have a leg to stand on here. :D
swat535 2y ago
Do you mean the Church is closed? I go to the Church often for worship and the Parishes are open very often, however its best to attend during Mass (Saturday evenings or Sundays) or other Holy days. Also, most Churches plan many community events including volunteering opportunities and have other things like support groups. They will accept your request to join any of these, no question asked. You can check their websites for these details. You are more than welcome to attend everything including Mass as an Atheist, if you feel like you need a place for solemnity, you can just sit in the back and observe or follow along! P.S I'm a Roman Catholic but pretty much all Protestant Churches operate more or less the same.
philsnow 2y ago
They're very much intentionally walking distance: https://tylervigen.com/the-mystery-of-the-bloomfield-bridge https://tylervigen.com/the-mystery-of-the-bloomfield-bridge
- em-bee 2y ago
  interesting article. has also been discussed here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37359193 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37359193

by pkulak 2y ago

lolinder 2y ago

I just dropped a pin in a random suburb outside Philadelphia, searched for churches, then tried to find the spot in the suburb that was the absolute furthest from a church. 0.8 miles, a 17 minute walk. Tried in again in a NY suburb and got 1.1 miles, a 22 minute walk. Tried in a suburb of LA, 0.6 miles, a 14 minute walk (and one that far was hard to find!). I'm deliberately avoiding the South where I expect this to be even more true. Obviously this becomes harder if you need a particular denomination, but a lot of people just attend whatever's closest, and that's all my statement claimed—that there is a church within walking distance of basically everyone. You're welcome to try this elsewhere and see if you get different results.

pkulak 2y ago
You may be right. Just did it in Katy Texas and got 24 minutes of, honestly, not a bad walk. I guess I'm just going off my experience, and when I was a kid, no one just went to the closest church. You went to _your_ church. My girlfriend's family was famous for changing churches all the time as soon as there was some philosophy they didn't agree with in their current one. Church with them always involved a pretty decent freeway drive. No I literally don't know a single person who goes to church so... I don't really have a leg to stand on here. :D

swat535 2y ago

Do you mean the Church is closed? I go to the Church often for worship and the Parishes are open very often, however its best to attend during Mass (Saturday evenings or Sundays) or other Holy days. Also, most Churches plan many community events including volunteering opportunities and have other things like support groups. They will accept your request to join any of these, no question asked. You can check their websites for these details. You are more than welcome to attend everything including Mass as an Atheist, if you feel like you need a place for solemnity, you can just sit in the back and observe or follow along! P.S I'm a Roman Catholic but pretty much all Protestant Churches operate more or less the same.

philsnow 2y ago

They're very much intentionally walking distance: https://tylervigen.com/the-mystery-of-the-bloomfield-bridge https://tylervigen.com/the-mystery-of-the-bloomfield-bridge

em-bee 2y ago
interesting article. has also been discussed here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37359193 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37359193